数字鸿沟与老年人身心健康:文化资本的中介作用

The Digital Divide and the Physical and Mental Health of Older People:The Medication Effects of Cultural Capital

老年人作为“数字弱势群体”与互联网时代发展要求互为矛盾,在老龄化社会的背景下,数字鸿沟对老年人身心健康造成的影响亟待关注。研究基于2020年中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)数据,采用回归分析法检验数字鸿沟对老年人身心健康的影响效应,以逐步回归检验法和Bootstrap法检验文化资本的中介效应。研究发现数字鸿沟对老年人身心健康的影响起负向作用,对老年人的身体健康和记忆健康影响较大,且其影响效应具有城乡异质性特征。老年人面临的数字鸿沟问题越小,身心健康水平越高。文化资本在数字鸿沟影响老年人身心健康的过程中具有中介效应,数字鸿沟对老年人身心健康的抑制作用可以通过文化资本水平的提高得到缓解。上述结论均通过稳健性检验。研究结论可为弥合老年人数字鸿沟问题、提高老年人身心健康水平提供参考意见。

As a“digitally disadvantaged group”and the development requirements of the Internet era are contradictory to each other,the impact of the digital divide on the physical and mental health of older adults needs urgent attention in the context of an aging society.Based on the data from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies(CFPS),this paper examines the effects of the digital divide on older adults′physical and mental health using regression analysis,and examines the mediating effect of cultural capital using stepwise regression test and Bootstrap method.The study found that the digital divide has a negative effect on the physical and mental health of older adults,which is a greater effect on the physical health and memory health of older adults,and its effect is characterized by urban-rural heterogeneity.The smaller the digital divide problem faced by older adults,the higher the level of physical and mental health.Cultural capital has a mediating effect in the process of digital divide affecting older adults′physical and mental health,and the inhibitory effect of digital divide on older adults′physical and mental health can be alleviated through the accumulation of cultural capital.All the above results passed the robustness test.The findings of the study can provide reference for bridging the digital divide problem faced by older adults and safeguarding the improvement of their physical and mental health.