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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1477417
This article is part of the Research Topic Mental Health of Vulnerable Groups: Predictors, Mechanisms, and Interventions View all 9 articles

The Impact of the Development Level of Rural E-commerce on the Depressive Symptoms among Rural Elderly Individuals

Provisionally accepted
Xiaofeng Xie Xiaofeng Xie 1,2Siying Wei Siying Wei 1,2Ling Zhu Ling Zhu 1,2Xiaoting Gan Xiaoting Gan 3*Yong He Yong He 4*Rui Wang Rui Wang 5*
  • 1 School of Nursing, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
  • 2 West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 3 School of Economics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4 School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China
  • 5 School of Marxism, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

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

    Background: In the context of China, where the demographic trend of population aging intertwines with the rapid advancement of information digitalization, rural elderly individuals, who are part of a vulnerable population, are witnessing a deteriorating depression status. The proliferation of rural e-commerce, which fuels the digital economic revolution in rural areas, is concurrently affecting the depressive symptoms among rural elderly individuals.Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and applies a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore how rural e-commerce affects the depressive symptoms among rural elderly individuals.The findings indicate that the development of rural e-commerce can indeed improve the depressive symptoms among rural elderly individuals, with a particularly pronounced effect on those residing in the eastern and central regions of China, as well as those who do not live with their children. The mechanism analysis indicates that e-commerce improves depressive symptoms among rural elderly individuals by enhancing social interaction frequency and increasing financial support by children.Based on these insights, we recommend a targeted approach to implementing e-commerce policies in rural areas, focusing on innovative methods to improve the depressive symptoms among rural elderly individuals.

    Keywords: e-commerce, depressive symptoms, Rural Elderly Individuals, Difference-in-differences, Mediation analysis

    Received: 07 Aug 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xie, Wei, Zhu, Gan, He and Wang. 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:
    Xiaoting Gan, School of Economics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, Sichuan Province, China
    Yong He, School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China
    Rui Wang, School of Marxism, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610207, Sichuan Province, 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.