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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1479204

Effect of the Big Five Personality on the Intention to Use mHealth Applications among the Chinese Elderly: A National-based Study

Provisionally accepted
Jinghui Chang Jinghui Chang 1Anqi Li Anqi Li 1Xixi Yang Xixi Yang 1Chunnan Li Chunnan Li 1Yanshan Mai Yanshan Mai 1Dayi Zhang Dayi Zhang 1Wende Yan Wende Yan 1Yibo Wu Yibo Wu 2*Jiangyun Chen Jiangyun Chen 1*
  • 1 Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract Background: Mobile health applications may provide potential tools to support healthy aging. Promoting mHealth use by the elderly remains an imperative to realize health improvement. Objective: The research aimed to identify the relationship between personality traits and the intention to use mHealth applications among the elderly in mainland China. Methods: Using a multi-stage sampling method, a cross-sectional survey of 3712 older adults across China was obtained out of 3721(validity rate was 99.76%) in 2022. The effect of personality on the intention to use mHealth applications among older adults was analyzed by multiple linear regression. The independent variable was the personality, using the short version of the Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI-10). The dependent variable was the intention to use the mHealth applications, measured using a sliding scale. Moderators included demographic characteristics and psycho-social variables measured by the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Family Health Scale, and the Health Literacy Scale. Results: The Chinese older adults’ intention to use mHealth applications scored (63.31±25.09). Out of the Five traits, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness exerted significant effects. Higher scores of extraversion (=0.59, t=1.99, P0.05) and openness (=1.87, t=6.07, P0.01) contributed to the intention to use mHealth applications. Conversely, higher agreeableness scores (=-1.05, t=-3.12, P0.01) related to lower intention. Conclusions: The elderly with high extraversion, openness, and low agreeableness are more willing to adopt mHealth applications in China. Healthcare professionals and mHealth device developers can make personalized and accurate interventions for the elderly with different personalities.

    Keywords: Big Five personality, a cross-sectional study, influencing factor, mobile consumer behavior, mobile health(mHealth)

    Received: 11 Aug 2024; Accepted: 15 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Chang, Li, Yang, Li, Mai, Zhang, Yan, Wu and Chen. 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:
    Yibo Wu, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, Beijing Municipality, China
    Jiangyun Chen, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

    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.