Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behavior

IntroductionAs an important social group, mothers possess unique physiological and psychological characteristics. They may rely on Internet sources for obtaining health information about themselves and their children.MethodsBased on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Technology Acceptance Mo...

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Main Authors: Huajie Xu, Yanping Zhou, Xiaotong Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Public Health
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1592093/full
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author Huajie Xu
Yanping Zhou
Xiaotong Wang
author_facet Huajie Xu
Yanping Zhou
Xiaotong Wang
author_sort Huajie Xu
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionAs an important social group, mothers possess unique physiological and psychological characteristics. They may rely on Internet sources for obtaining health information about themselves and their children.MethodsBased on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the influencing factors model of maternal online health information searching behavior is constructed. We collect 903 valid sample data through the questionnaire survey in China. Using SPSS software to empirically analyze the influence of different influencing factors on maternal online health information searching behavior.ResultsPerceived usefulness mediated between the Internet information quality and online health information-seeking behavior, accounting for 59.46% of the variance. Anxiety mediated between maternal stress and online health information-seeking behavior, accounting for 19.40% of the variance.ConclusionInternet information quality positively affected mothers’ perception of the usefulness of the information. Perceived usefulness and anxiety played a partial mediating role in the central and peripheral paths, respectively. Furthermore, social support effectively moderated the influence of maternal stress on their anxiety.
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spelling doaj-art-2ef0f46222dd462ab1566b37bfe41da32025-08-20T02:44:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15920931592093Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behaviorHuajie Xu0Yanping Zhou1Xiaotong Wang2Department of Public Security Management, Shanxi Police College, Taiyuan, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, ChinaInstitute of Higher Education Research, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, ChinaIntroductionAs an important social group, mothers possess unique physiological and psychological characteristics. They may rely on Internet sources for obtaining health information about themselves and their children.MethodsBased on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the influencing factors model of maternal online health information searching behavior is constructed. We collect 903 valid sample data through the questionnaire survey in China. Using SPSS software to empirically analyze the influence of different influencing factors on maternal online health information searching behavior.ResultsPerceived usefulness mediated between the Internet information quality and online health information-seeking behavior, accounting for 59.46% of the variance. Anxiety mediated between maternal stress and online health information-seeking behavior, accounting for 19.40% of the variance.ConclusionInternet information quality positively affected mothers’ perception of the usefulness of the information. Perceived usefulness and anxiety played a partial mediating role in the central and peripheral paths, respectively. Furthermore, social support effectively moderated the influence of maternal stress on their anxiety.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1592093/fullmaternalperceived usefulnessanxious emotionsocial supportonline health information-seeking behavior
spellingShingle Huajie Xu
Yanping Zhou
Xiaotong Wang
Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behavior
Frontiers in Public Health
maternal
perceived usefulness
anxious emotion
social support
online health information-seeking behavior
title Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behavior
title_full Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behavior
title_fullStr Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behavior
title_full_unstemmed Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behavior
title_short Influencing factors of maternal online health information-seeking behavior
title_sort influencing factors of maternal online health information seeking behavior
topic maternal
perceived usefulness
anxious emotion
social support
online health information-seeking behavior
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1592093/full
work_keys_str_mv AT huajiexu influencingfactorsofmaternalonlinehealthinformationseekingbehavior
AT yanpingzhou influencingfactorsofmaternalonlinehealthinformationseekingbehavior
AT xiaotongwang influencingfactorsofmaternalonlinehealthinformationseekingbehavior