IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i22p14785-d968597.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Relationship between Internet Use and Self-Rated Health among Older Adults in China: The Mediating Role of Social Support

Author

Listed:
  • Ningning Liu

    (School of Public Administration, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

  • Yujing He

    (School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

  • Zhirong Li

    (School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

Abstract

The development of Internet technology has significantly impacted how people live their daily lives. How this disparity in Internet use affects the self-rated health of older adults needs to be further explored. This paper studies the impact of Internet use on self-rated health, aiming to examine the effect of Internet use and social support on the self-rated health of older adults in China. This study used data from the 2017 China General Social Survey (CGSS) to verify the effect of Internet use on older adults’ self-rated health. The results showed that Chinese elderly who used the Internet had a higher self-rated health, and social support from relatives and friends significantly improved the elderly’s self-rated health. This social support played a critical, partially mediating role between Internet use and self-rated health. In China, the effect of Internet use on older adults’ self-rated health was heterogeneous. Among them, the impact of Internet use was more significant for the male elderly, younger elderly, and rural elderly. The results suggest that the government should formulate targeted policies to improve the utilization of the Internet and maintain a good Internet environment to enhance the well-being of older adults according to the trend of population aging and the popularity of the Internet.

Suggested Citation

  • Ningning Liu & Yujing He & Zhirong Li, 2022. "The Relationship between Internet Use and Self-Rated Health among Older Adults in China: The Mediating Role of Social Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:14785-:d:968597
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/14785/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/14785/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ohrnberger, Julius & Fichera, Eleonora & Sutton, Matt, 2017. "The relationship between physical and mental health: A mediation analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 42-49.
    2. Daisheng Tang & Xinyuan Wang & Yahong Liu & Tao Bu, 2022. "The Impact of Informal Social Support on Older Health: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Nan Lu & Shicun Xu & Jingyue Zhang, 2021. "Community Social Capital, Family Social Capital, and Self-Rated Health among Older Rural Chinese Adults: Empirical Evidence from Rural Northeastern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, May.
    4. Li, LiLi & Zeng, Yiwu & Zhang, Zhonggen, 2020. "Impact of Internet use on Health outcomes of Rural Residents: Evidence from China," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304177, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Chao Yu & Xinyi Zhang & Junbo Gao, 2022. "Multi-Dimensional Comparison of the Impact Mechanism of the Self-Rated Health Status of Urban and Rural Residents in Chinese Social Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Liqing Li & Haifeng Ding & Zihan Li, 2022. "Does Internet Use Impact the Health Status of Middle-Aged and Older Populations? Evidence from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    7. Lili Li & Yiwu Zeng & Zhonggen Zhang & Changluan Fu, 2020. "The Impact of Internet Use on Health Outcomes of Rural Adults: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-14, September.
    8. Nanqian Chen & Yanpei Shen & Hailun Liang & Rui Guo, 2021. "Housing and Adult Health: Evidence from Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-13, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shishuai Fan & Yifan Yang, 2022. "How Does Internet Use Improve Mental Health among Middle-Aged and Elderly People in Rural Areas in China? A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Mengyuan Sui & Haifeng Ding & Bo Xu & Mingxing Zhou, 2022. "The Impact of Internet Use on the Happiness of Chinese Civil Servants: A Mediation Analysis Based on Self-Rated Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Shunbin Zhong & Mengding Li & Yihui Liu & Yun Bai, 2023. "Do Internet Development and Urbanization Foster Regional Economic Growth: Evidence from China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Yan Mei & Nuoyan Lin, 2023. "Internet Use and the Happiness of Rural Residents: The Role of Education and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Liqing Li & Haifeng Ding & Zihan Li, 2022. "Does Internet Use Impact the Health Status of Middle-Aged and Older Populations? Evidence from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    6. Martinson Ankrah Twumasi & Hongyun Zheng & Love Offeibea Asiedu-Ayeh & Anthony Siaw & Yuansheng Jiang, 2023. "Access to Financial Services and Its Impact on Household Income: Evidence from Rural Ghana," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(4), pages 869-890, August.
    7. Byaro, Mwoya & Rwezaula, Anicet & Ngowi, Nicholaus, 2023. "Does internet use and adoption matter for better health outcomes in sub-Saharan African countries? New evidence from panel quantile regression," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Liqing Li & Haifeng Ding, 2022. "The Relationship between Internet Use and Population Health: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Deborah De Moortel & Nico Dragano & Morten Wahrendorf, 2020. "Involuntary Full- and Part-Time Work: Employees’ Mental Health and the Role of Family- and Work-Related Resources," Societies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, October.
    10. Dusanee Kesavayuth & Prompong Shangkhum & Vasileios Zikos, 2022. "Well-Being and Physical Health: A Mediation Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 2849-2879, August.
    11. Lisa Reyes Mason & Bonita B. Sharma & Jayme E. Walters & Christine C. Ekenga, 2020. "Mental Health and Weather Extremes in a Southeastern U.S. City: Exploring Group Differences by Race," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-18, May.
    12. Charness, Gary & Le Bihan, Yves & Villeval, Marie Claire, 2024. "Mindfulness training, cognitive performance and stress reduction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 207-226.
    13. Zhenyi Wang & Wen Dong & Kun Yang, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Analysis and Risk Assessment Model Research of Diabetes among People over 45 Years Old in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-26, August.
    14. Patricio Solis-Urra & Julio Plaza-Diaz & Ana Isabel Álvarez-Mercado & Fernando Rodríguez-Rodríguez & Carlos Cristi-Montero & Juan Pablo Zavala-Crichton & Jorge Olivares-Arancibia & Javier Sanchez-Mart, 2020. "The Mediation Effect of Self–Report Physical Activity Patterns in the Relationship between Educational Level and Cognitive Impairment in Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Chilean Health National ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-12, April.
    15. Xiang Kang & Mingxi Du & Siqin Wang & Haifeng Du, 2022. "Exploring the Effect of Health on Migrants’ Social Integration in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-20, April.
    16. Taylor Van Winkle & Zeenat Kotval-K & Patricia Machemer & Zenia Kotval, 2022. "Health and the Urban Environment: A Bibliometric Mapping of Knowledge Structure and Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    17. Levinsky, Michal & Schiff, Miriam, 2021. "Lifetime cumulative adversity and physical health deterioration in old age: Evidence from a fourteen-year longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    18. Di Novi, Cinzia & Leporatti, Lucia & Montefiori, Marcello, 2021. "The role of education in psychological response to adverse health shocks," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(5), pages 643-650.
    19. Ernst, Mareike & Brähler, Elmar & Klein, Eva M. & Jünger, Claus & Wild, Philipp S. & Faber, Jörg & Schneider, Astrid & Beutel, Manfred E., 2020. "What's past is prologue: Recalled parenting styles are associated with childhood cancer survivors' mental health outcomes more than 25 years after diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    20. Run-Ping Che & Mei-Chun Cheung, 2022. "Community-Dwelling Older Adults’ Intended Use of Different Types of Long-Term Care in China and Its Associated Factors Based on the Andersen Behavioral Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-16, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:14785-:d:968597. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.