Longitudinal trajectories of internet use, attitudes toward aging, and depression: a latent growth mediation model

Objectives Whether Internet use affects depression in older adults in china via aging attitudes remains unclear. Moreover, few longitudinal studies have been conducted. Methods After excluding missing data, the final sample comprised 4,039 older adults (aged ≥60 years) from the 2018, 2020, and 2023 waves of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). Using latent growth modeling, we examined the proposed relationship between frequency of Internet use (IU), attitude toward aging (AA) and depression level (DEP) of older adults. Results Bootstrapping-based latent growth modeling analyses revealed that the frequency of Internet use and aging attitude of older adults population showed a downward trend, while the level of depression showed an upward trend. The relationships among the three variables are as follows. The initial level of Internet use (IU) indirectly affects the initial level of depression level (DEP) through the initial level of aging attitude (AA) (indirect effect β = −0.098, 95% CI [−0.134, −0.068]). The growth rate of Internet use frequency (IU) indirectly affects the growth rate of depression (DEP) through the growth rate of aging attitude (AA) (indirect effect β = −0.059, 95% CI [−0.090, −0.040]). Conclusion Longitudinal changes in aging attitude have an indirect effect on the relationship between Internet use and depression. It highlights the importance of positive changes in aging attitude and Internet use on depression.