 Internet use and cognition among middle-aged and older adults in China: A cross-lagged panel analysisDandan Yu and Denzil Fiebig The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 2020, vol. 17, issue C Abstract: The present study examines the reciprocal relationship between Internet use and cognitive function over time among middle-aged and older populations in China. We use data from the first three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), where participants provided information on Internet use and cognitive function measures at the baseline in 2011 as well as two follow-ups in 2013 and 2015. Cross-lagged panel models were fitted to test the reciprocal association over these four years. Middle-aged and older individuals with higher cognitive function were more likely to be regular Internet users. After controlling for the effects of cognition two years prior, Internet users tended to score higher on cognitive tests than non-users. These findings survived across alternative subsamples and model specifications. Our results suggest that cognitive decline in later life may explain the lower technology adoption rate among older individuals. Meanwhile, Internet use could serve as a protective factor against cognitive decline in mid-life and older adulthood. Keywords: Internet use; Cognitive function; Cross-lagged panel; China (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joecag:v:17:y:2020:i:c:s2212828x2030027x DOI: 10.1016/j.jeoa.2020.100262 Access Statistics for this article The Journal of the Economics of Ageing is currently edited by D.E. Bloom, A. Sousa-Poza and U. Sunde More articles in The Journal of the Economics of Ageing from Elsevier |
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