The number of elderly Internet users has increased significantly in the past few years. However, the impact of Internet use on mental health remains unclear. In this study, we performed a difference-in-differences analysis using data from the 2016 and 2018 waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to evaluate the impact of Internet usage on mental health among elderly individuals. A total of 5031 validated respondents were included to explore the relationship between Internet use and reduced levels of depression as well as improved life satisfaction among elderly individuals. The results showed that Internet use significantly reduced depression levels. Unexpectedly, Internet use was not found to improve life satisfaction. Moreover, discontinuing Internet use was not significantly associated with improvements in depression or life satisfaction. More research is needed to fully elucidate the relationship between Internet use and depression levels, as well as life satisfaction among elderly individuals.

The effect of marriage pairings on fertility intentions is specific and has attracted increasing scholarly attention in recent years. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study explored the impact of couples’ educational pairings, age pairings, and income pairings on women’s desired number of children and their preference for sons. The results showed that marital-educational pairing had a greater effect on women’s fertility intentions than age and income pairing. The effect of marital pairing on women’s fertility intentions is also influenced by women’s age and urban–rural differences. The study helps to understand the changes in women’s fertility intentions and the factors influencing them after the fertility policy transition in China and inspires scholars to pay more attention to the interaction process between couples in the study of fertility intentions.

Aging in place with a suitable living environment is essential for the health and well-being of older adults. However, the willingness of older people to modify their housing to meet their needs is not strong. Using the Analytic Network Process (ANP) method, the study first explores the weights of factors, such as perceived behavioral control, policies, and market conditions that influence older adults’ behavioral intention. Then, a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to dissect the psychological factors which account for the largest proportion. Using data from 560 people aged 70 or older from Beijing, results suggest that effectiveness perception, cost perception, and subjective norms can influence older people’s behavioral intention directly or indirectly through emotional attitudes. Risk perception can moderate the level of behavioral intention triggered by cost perceptions. This study provides new evidence for the impact of factors and interaction mechanism on older adults’ behavioral intentions toward age-friendly home modifications.

Advanced maternal age at childbirth (AMAC) is increasingly common, yet its long-term association with frailty remains unclear. Using three longitudinal cohorts (CHARLS, KLoSA, and HRS; N = 21,090), we examined this association via Cox proportional hazards models and mediation analysis. After multivariable adjustment, AMAC (≥35 years) was associated with increased frailty risk in the Chinese (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–1.42) and Korean (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.02–1.50) cohorts, while AMAC (≥40 years) showed a similar direction in the United States cohort. Life satisfaction partially mediated this association, accounting for 8.9% of the total effect in KLoSA and 22.4% in HRS, with substantial attenuation of the direct effect in CHARLS. These cross-national findings indicate that psychosocial well-being may represent a modifiable pathway for frailty prevention among women with a history of AMAC.