Social support and depressive symptoms between internet-used and non-internet-used older adults in China: a network analysis

Depressive symptoms of older adults was a global challenge, and it was influenced by social support. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms among internet-used and non-internet-used older adults by using network analysis. This study fitted network models to two subsamples extracted from nationally representative and cross-section data from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), and compared depressive symptom levels and the effect of the three possible influencing factors related to depression. Network analysis revealed that the network structures of depressive symptoms among internet-used and non-internet-used older adults differed. CESD3 “Felt sad” was the core symptoms for the former, while CESD7 “Felt useless” was the core symptoms for the latter. In addition, Family support, Peer support, and Community support impacted differently on two subsamples’ depressive symptoms. This study added evidence to the growing literature on depressive symptom patterns between internet-used and non-internet-used older adults in China. These findings have implications for setting up patient-tailored treatment approaches for depressive symptoms. These supportive factors could be considered when considering their associations with depressive symptoms.