Smartphone-induced change resistance and smartphone-based health information acquisition among older adults in China: The roles of family and peers
Zian Fang, Bo Xiao, Yongmei LiuBackground
Smartphones have become a primary channel through which older adults obtain health information, yet technology-induced resistance to change may be associated with lower engagement in health information acquisition.
Objective
Drawing on social influence theory and social cognitive theory, this study examines the association between smartphone-induced change resistance and older adults’ smartphone-based health information acquisition and whether this association varies according to family support and peer influence.
Method
Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach, this study combines a survey of 218 older adults and follow-up in-depth interviews with 19 older adults, all residing in China.
Results
Smartphone self-efficacy was positively associated with smartphone-based health information acquisition, as were smartphone health outcome expectations. Smartphone-induced change resistance was negatively associated with smartphone-based health information acquisition. Peer influence was positively associated with both smartphone self-efficacy and smartphone health outcome expectations, whereas family support was not significantly associated with smartphone self-efficacy and showed only a marginal positive association with smartphone health outcome expectations. In the moderation analysis, the negative association between smartphone-induced change resistance and smartphone-based health information acquisition was weaker at higher levels of peer influence, whereas this association did not vary significantly across levels of family support.
Conclusion
This study advances research on older adults’ health information acquisition by examining smartphone-induced change resistance in relation to everyday smartphone-based health information acquisition. It shows that peer influence was more strongly related to smartphone self-efficacy than family support. For smartphone health outcome expectations, the peer-influence coefficient was numerically larger, but its difference from the family-support coefficient was not significant. The negative relationship between change resistance and health information acquisition was also weaker when peer influence was higher, whereas family support did not show the same pattern. These findings highlight the distinctive role of peer networks and may offer insights into digital health inequities.