Relationship between loneliness and internet use,physical health in the elderly
10.3969/j.issn.1000-6729.2024.05.009
- VernacularTitle:老年人孤独感与互联网使用和躯体健康的关系
- Author:
Yixuan WU
1
;
Dan TANG
;
Dahua WANG
Author Information
1. 北京师范大学心理学部,北京 100875
- Keywords:
aged;
internet;
loneliness;
physical health;
internet use
- From:
Chinese Mental Health Journal
2024;38(5):426-432
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explorethe relationship between internet use and loneliness among the elderly,as well as the moderating role of physical health.Methods:Data from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Sur-vey(CLASS2018)were analyzed,including 8 260 older adults.Loneliness was measured withthe UCLA Loneliness Scale-3-item short version(UCLA-3),Internet use was measured with whether or not participants used the internet and for what purposes(Latent class analysis identified three types of internet users,namely multi-functional use group,communication group,and information acquisition group),and physical health was assessed with activities of daily living and chronic disease status.Results:Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the elderly who used the internet had significantly lower scores on the loneliness scale than those who did not use the internet(β=-0.08).Multi-functional use group had significantly lower loneliness scores than information acquisition group and communication group(β=0.06,0.12).Two-way ANOVA found that physical health moderated the association be-tween internet use,internet use type,and loneliness(Ps＜0.05).Conclusion:Internet use helps the elderly to allevi-ate loneliness,and the use of multiple Internet functions has a cumulative effect on reducing loneliness.However,the relationship between internet use and loneliness among the elderly may vary depending on their physical health status.
