Dong Zhou’s research while affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other places

Previous research has identified social isolation as a significant detriment to the wellbeing of older adults. However, studies that consider endogenous issues are scarce. The present paper examines the impact of the recent exogenous shock, the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of the older adult population using a longitudinal dataset from China for the period 2016–2020. The results of this study indicate that the life satisfaction of Chinese older adults was negatively affected, e particularly in regions where social distancing measures were more strictly enforced. Declines in physical and mental health were found to be attributable to declines in life satisfaction. Those who experienced greater exposure to the pandemic were more likely to suffer from chronic disease, illness, and insomnia, and many found it challenging to complete tasks during the lockdown. Furthermore, heterogeneity estimation shows that these effects are stronger among the rural older adult, females, those without a spouse, and those with less education.

This study experimentally investigates initial trust formation in the organizational context of an artificial intelligence (AI) system in human resource management (HRM). Drawing on social exchange theory and leader‐member exchange theory, we identify factors that contribute to initial trust in AI through cognitive and affective processing from the perspective of employees in the Chinese context. An online survey ( N = 426) was conducted with a 2 (explanation of AI: without vs with) × 2 (trust in leaders: low vs high) design. Our findings demonstrate that initial trust plays a crucial role in AI adoption, and a trustworthy leader increases employees' AI trust and intention to adopt. Providing AI's benefits and risks moderates initial trust and the pathway to adoption. Moreover, familiarity with AI's application in HRM and organizational collectivism is also beneficial. Our findings suggest that organizations should prioritize cultivating initial trust in AI with employee‐oriented strategies, including trusted leadership and supportive training resources.

This study examined how Chinese ingroup and outgroup trust have changed by the recent situational crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the China-US trade war since 2019. Based on a nationwide individual-level longitudinal dataset, we found ingroup trust has significantly increased within persons, while outgroup trust in Americans ceased its upward pattern and obviously decreased in 2020. The trends imply negative correlations between ingroup and outgroup trust as the Antagonism Theory stated. To better comprehend the connections, we utilized temporal and regional variations of pandemic exposure and adopted difference-in-differences approach to evaluate whether and how the domestic health crisis explained the trends. By analyzing alterations in trust levels within individuals before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, we obtained strong proof that the domestic health crisis played a causal role in decreasing Chinese trust in Americans. However, there is no significant evidence to support the causal link between increasing trends of ingroup trust and pandemic severity or regulation stringency. The results imply that domestic existential threats do not necessarily causally promote ingroup trust, but instead degrade outgroup trust, which potentially fuels intergroup competition and rivalry. Furthermore, the ingroup/outgroup divide in the digital realm augmented interpersonal rivalry in reality. Empirical evidence corroborates this conclusion, as positive moderating effects of internet usage were found, and stronger impacts were detected in export-focused regions. This discovery highlights the significance of building trust and cultivating intergroup empathy in the increasingly complex international situation.

While previous studies have investigated the influence of new media on mental health, little is known about its effects on the mental health of married women. This is a crucial research area, given that married women commonly encounter distinct mental health difficulties. Also, current research fails to provide comprehensive, population-based studies, with most relying on cross-sectional designs. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between new media use and mental health among married women in China, utilizing a nationally representative longitudinal dataset. We utilized a balanced panel dataset from 2016 to 2020 to establish a causal connection between internet use and the mental health of these women. Our findings indicate that internet use has a positive impact on the mental health of married women in China. Additionally, a structural estimation model (SEM) with 2020 wave data was utilized to investigate various new media use effects and explore mediating pathways of marital satisfaction. Consistently, there were negative findings between new media use, marital satisfaction, and depression. Furthermore, it was determined that new media usage had a significant negative impact on married women’s overall satisfaction with their spouses’ housework contribution, which, in turn, negatively affected marital satisfaction as a whole. The pathways that mediate the effect of marital satisfaction on depression differ across general internet use, streaming media use, and WeChat use. Examining various theoretical perspectives, we interpreted the indirect impact of new media use on mental health through marital satisfaction as passive mediation.

In this paper, we exploit variation in COVID-19 infections and deaths across Chinese cities to identify the health impacts of COVID-19 based on longitudinal data at the individual level. Our paper provides empirical evidence of the immediate impact of COVID-19 on both physical and mental health. Utilizing a difference-in-differences methodology and focusing on changes in within-individual health condition between pre-COVID-19 and the early stages of COVID-19, we find robust evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has an adverse effect on self-perceived health condition, chronic illness, sleep, and depression. Our findings are robust to alternative constructions of cities’ exposure to COVID-19, to the exclusion of Wuhan city, which was hit the hardest and had experienced the most stringent lockdowns. Furthermore, accounting for the impact of COVID-19 policies, our results indicate that the decline in physical health can be attributed to the shock of the pandemic, while emotional health is mainly affected by anti-contagion policies.

Background and Objectives There is growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing policies may exacerbate the mental health problems in older adults. Most studies primarily have focused on developed countries, whereas the mental consequences of the pandemic in developing countries are less well known. This study evaluates the influences of the global pandemic in relation to loneliness and family contact among older Chinese adults, and examines the roles of internet adoption in alleviating the emotional experience of loneliness. Research Design and Methods We run individual fixed effects regression models using the 2018 and 2020 waves of the Chinese Family Panel Studies survey with 4,944 respondents aged 60 and above to capture the average within-person changes before and after the first outbreak of COVID-19 in China. We further examine the mediating effects of internet adoption on loneliness using structural equation modelling (SEM). Simultaneous SEM tested the effects of internet literacy and social network site use, and heterogeneous effects analyses were also conducted across subgroups. Results Fixed effects estimates indicated increased loneliness and decreased family contact during the pandemic. Moreover, more older adults were found to use internet in 2020. The fixed -effect estimations and structural equation models consistently found that older adults’ use of the Internet contributed to more social contacts and virtual meetings with their children, which have alleviated the emotional experience of loneliness. Discussion and Implications Digital inclusion of older adults to adopt the Internet can be beneficial to improve mental well-being and alleviate loneliness during times of pandemic crisis. Targeted acceleration of digitalization to reduce the digital divide needs to be considered.

p> This paper investigates the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s employment and gender disparity with a longitudinal dataset spanning the pandemic. We exploit the regional intensities of social vulnerability and temporal variation to implement the difference-in-differences (DID) estimation. The results indicate that the pandemic and its associated lockdowns generate a significant and negative impact on women’s employment but not on men’s employment. Moreover, a counterfactual analysis using pre-pandemic data further supports the causal nature of the documented relationships. The evidence suggests that economic downturns caused by public health emergencies, unlike previous economic recessions, have a greater impact on women, and differentiated policies should be designed. </p

Population aging and digitalization have become universal phenomena. Over the past two decades, digital inclusion has started to play a crucial role in supporting successful aging. Based on a nationally representative sample of around 5200 older adults in China over the period of 2014–2018, we explore the effects of online social interactions (OSIs) on the life satisfaction of older adults. We find that OSIs can improve the levels of life satisfaction of older Chinese adults. Estimates from fixed effect and cross-lagged structural equation models further suggest that OSIs work by increasing physical activities, healthy time allocation, interpersonal trust, and informal social engagement and reducing loneliness. We also find that OSIs narrow the social inequality in life satisfaction across groups from rural–urban areas and groups with different social statuses. Moreover, a comparison among different online engagements shows that not all online activities positively affect older adults’ life satisfaction. Different online activities have varying effects. Our results highlight that public digital interventions focusing on social functions can benefit the lives of older adults.

This study explores the relationship between internet use during non-working hours and marriage well-being and channels through which internet use operates on marital satisfaction. With a 2-year nationwide micro panel data, our main results reveal negative effects of internet experience on overall marriage satisfaction, satisfaction towards spousal contribution in housework and marital stability. Empirically, we adopt linear as well as nonlinear models, use propensity score matching approach, and implement parametric as well as semiparametric analyses. Evidence further show that active internet users can use the internet to chat with strangers and easily access potential romantic partners. Its social function leads to a substantial reduction in search cost and raised reservation value of partner contribute to a lower level of spousal satisfaction. Moreover, it was also found that internet use partially weakens traditional Chinese views of family gender roles. And gender ideology changes through internet’s educational function has increased spousal dissatisfaction in China. In addition, it is found that internet use crowds out time spent on housework as well as other investment in current marriage, and hence increases spousal dissatisfaction.