Technological Self-Efficacy Moderates the Relationship between Digital Technology Use and Life Satisfaction among North Korean Migrants in South Korea during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND The use of digital technology is an important component of social inclusion for migrant and refugee populations because it can help them adapt to their host country. However, researchers have yet to empirically examine how digital technology use may affect life satisfaction in migrant populations and how these populations make use of digital technology. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to compare life satisfaction among North Korean migrants and the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic; examine the factors associated with life satisfaction with a focus on changes in digital technology use due to COVID-19; and test the moderating effect of technological self-efficacy on the relationship between changes in digital technology use and life satisfaction. METHODS This study analyzed secondary, cross-sectional survey data from the 2020 Digital Divide Survey conducted in South Korea. We included people aged 18 years and older from the North Korean migrants (n=699) and the general population (n=6,520) subsamples of the survey. The relationship between changes in digital technology use and life satisfaction in these two groups was examined using ordinary least squares regression. We also examined the moderating effect between the change in the use of each type of digital technology (five types: social media, life services, information sharing services, civic engagement, and consumption services) and technological self-efficacy. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences in average scores for life satisfaction and technological self-efficacy between North Korean migrants and the general population. Technological self-efficacy had a positive effect on life satisfaction in both North Korean migrants (β=0.248, standard deviation=0.036) and the general population (β=0.283, standard deviation=0.009) when socio-demographic factors were not controlled (p<0.05). The increase in the use of online civic engagement among North Korean migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic (compared with pre-COVID-19 pandemic) had a positive impact on life satisfaction. The increase in the use of online life services and social media in the general population (compared with pre-COVID-19 pandemic) had a negative impact on life satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS Policy intervention is necessary to promote technological self-efficacy in North Korean migrants and improve their digital technology use. North Korean migrants should receive periodic and systematic digital technology use training in community-based organizations. The use of digital technology is likely to lead to positive psychosocial adaptation outcomes for North Korean migrants. Considering the potential benefits of TSE for North Korean migrants, as well as what the current information-focused education programs have to offer, added psychological factors are even more critical.