Digital Family Access and Depressive Tendency in Rural Children: Digital Usages as A Mediator

Given the the digital era, mental health of rural children is of particular concern. Taking a total of 314 rural children in Linquan County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province, as survey respondents, and using a combination of descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, this study aimed to explore the effects of digital family access on rural children's depressive tendency, and to analyse the personal digital usage as a mediator. The results of the study showed that household Internet devices had a significantly and positively impact on rural children's depressive tendency, while restrictive parental roles were negatively associated with depression. In addition, digital leisure use was identified as a mediating variable. The results of this study highlight the importance of the family in the regulation of children's digital use and children's psychological problems, and provide a basis for the development of relevant policies and interventions.