ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1670203
This article is part of the Research TopicAging: Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusion and Active Participation - Volume IIView all 5 articles
The complex relationship between the digital divide, social capital, and mental health among older adults: a multi-method path decomposition
Provisionally accepted
- Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
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Background: Against the backdrop of converging population aging and digitalization trends, the impact of the digital divide on older adults' mental health represents a paradox characterized by conflicting empirical findings. Methods: To address this paradox, this study employs a multi-method analytical strategy—comprising Propensity Score Matching, Panel Fixed-Effects models, and Generalized Structural Equation Modeling—utilizing nationally representative data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2016–2022. This approach systematically decomposes the complex causal pathways connecting the digital divide, social capital, and mental health among older adults. Results: After rigorously controlling for self-selection bias and time-invariant individual heterogeneity, our findings initially demonstrate a robust null total effect of the digital divide on depressive symptoms among older adults (Average Treatment Effect on the Treated [ATT] = 0.02, t = 0.10, p > 0.1). However, subsequent mechanism analysis reveals that this null effect represents a statistical artifact arising from a suppression effect. Specifically, a beneficial direct pathway (direct effect of physical access on depression: β = -0.052, p < 0.1) is offset by a detrimental indirect pathway, wherein higher-order "motivational access" undermines bridging social capital (effect on interpersonal relationships: β = -0.207, p < 0.001), which subsequently serves as a protective factor for mental health (effect on depression: β = -0.032, p < 0.1). Conclusion: This study empirically establishes that the digital divide functions as a double-edged sword for older adults' mental health, with its net effect contingent upon the complex interplay between direct technological benefits and indirect social costs. These findings indicate that future digital inclusion policies must transcend the narrow focus on bridging physical access gaps to prioritize "empowering trust." This objective can be realized through targeted digital literacy interventions that enable older adults to navigate technology safely, thereby advancing the broader policy objective of healthy aging.
Keywords: digital divide, Mental Health, older adults, social capital, suppression effect, causal inference, China
Received: 21 Jul 2025; Accepted: 14 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Feng, Zhou, Chen and Xia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Qiwei Feng, fengqiwei@hnucm.edu.cn
Xinbin Xia, xiaxinbin@hnucm.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.