Digital Competence as a Personal Resource Against Technostress Among Peruvian University Faculty: A Latent-Variable Study with Age-Group Differences

Methods

Cross-sectional survey of 384 Peruvian university faculty (64.3% women; mean age 47.8 years). Digital competence and technostress (RED-TEC) were modelled as latent variables with dimension-level indicators; measurement invariance and multigroup structural models were tested by sex and age group. Results: The two-factor measurement model fitted well (CFI = .980; RMSEA = .058) and was free of common-method bias.

Digital competence reduced technostress (β = −.32, 95% bootstrap CI [−.47, −.20]; R² = .10) across all five manifestations, most strongly anxiety and least strongly addiction. Under partial scalar invariance the effect did not differ by sex but differed by age (Δχ²(2) = 14.77, p < .001): it was strongest among faculty aged 36–50 (β = −.59), moderate over 50 (β = −.25) and non-significant at 35 or younger. Conclusions: Digital competence protects against technostress, but mainly in mid-career faculty.

Training should target that group, and institutions remain responsible for regulating technological demands.</p>