The contribution of audiobook use on the mental health of older adults: the mediating effects of social adaptation

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to examine the association between audiobook use and the mental health of older adults.

Methods: Data were from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey(CLASS 2018). The study utilized multiple linear regression to examine the association between audiobook use and the mental health of older adults. Robustness and heterogeneity analyses were conducted to validate the findings. Mediation analysis was employed to assess the mediating role of social adaptation in the relationship between audiobook use and mental health.

Results: The study revealed a significant positive association between audiobook use and the mental health of older adults. Further mediation analysis indicated that social adaptation played a mediating role in this relationship.

Conclusion: These findings underscore the potential of audiobooks as a valuable tool for promoting the mental health of older individuals. The research emphasizes the significance of integrating audiobook interventions into strategies aimed at enhancing the mental health of the older adults.

Keywords:

• Older adults
• audiobook use
• mental health
• mechanisms of influence
• social adaptation

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the participants for their understanding and participation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Conceptualized the paper and designed the methodology, W.C.; data analysis, W.C. and X.W.; writing—original draft preparation, W.C.; writing—review and editing, W.C. and X.W.; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Guarantor

XY

Data availability statement

Restrictions apply to the availability of these data. Data were obtained from the National Survey Research Center at the Renmin University of China and are available at http://class.ruc.edu.cn/ (accessed on 12 May 2022) with the permission of the National Survey Research Center at Renmin University of China.

Additional information

Funding

This research is funded by the Social Science Foundation of Changsha City (2023CSSKKT28); Hunan Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholar (2022JJ40107); Natural Science Foundation of Changsha City (kq2202180).