Neighborhood environment, internet use and mental distress among older adults: The case of Shanghai, China

Abstract

As the Internet evolves in urban communities, its consequences on mental distress have drawn significant research attention. We examine the relationships of mental distress with neighborhood environment and Internet use among older adults, using data from a representative sample of 2036 adults aged older than 60 years in Shanghai, China. We assess mental health with a 10-item scale from the Symptom Checklist 90 and Internet use with a 4-item scale and obtain information of neighborhood environment from an online map platform. Results from multilevel models show that both neighborhood environment and Internet use are significantly related to mental distress. Moreover, a worse neighborhood environment may strengthen the correlation between Internet use and mental distress, indicating the strong moderating role of the neighborhood environment. Thus, promoting Internet use among elderly people might result in a reduction in the prevalence of mental distress in disadvantaged neighborhoods.