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. 2021 Apr 22:12:654548.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.654548. eCollection 2021.

Media Exposure Related to the PTSS During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Risk Perception

Yiqing Wang  1 , Ling Jiang  1 , Shuang Ma  2 , Qinian Chen  1 , Chengbin Liu  3 , Farooq Ahmed  4 , Muhammad Shahid  5 , Xiaohua Wang  1 , Jing Guo  6
Affiliations

Media Exposure Related to the PTSS During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Risk Perception

Yiqing Wang et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to assess the relationship between media exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and to highlight the underlying mechanisms mediated by risk perception. Methods: This survey was conducted online in China from February 1st to February 10th, 2020. A total of 2,858 Chinese citizens aged ≥18 years from 31 provinces and autonomous regions were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional study. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess media exposure, PTSS, and risk perception. Results: The prevalence of respondents with heightened PTSS scores was 22.2%. After controlling for covariates, media exposure (more than five times a day) was significantly and positively associated with a high level of PTSS (B = 4.11, p < 0.001), and risk perception (worry and severity) significantly mediated the relationship between media exposure and PTSS (all 95% CIs did not include 0). Conclusions: Based on these findings, the frequency of media exposure was associated with PTSS. Risk perception (worry and severity) mediated the relationship between media exposure and PTSS. The mental health, particularly PTSS, of the general population should be closely monitored and "infodemics" should be combatted while addressing the COVID-19 outbreak; cognitive interventions may be promising.

Keywords: COVID-19; PTSS; media exposure; public health; risk perception.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The mediation models of risk perception. (A) Depiction of the mediation model where risk perception (worry) mediates the relation between media exposure and PTSS; (B) Depiction of the mediation model where risk perception (severity) mediates the relation between media exposure and PTSS. a1-a3 and b, unstandardized coefficient; c'1-c'3, unstandardized coefficient after controlling mediators. n.s., the mediating effect of “2 times a day” on PTSS through “severity” was not significant. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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