Deal Caroline, Bogdan Ryan, Miller J Phil, Rodebaugh Tom, Caburnay Charlene, Yingling Mike, Hershey Tammy, Schweiger Julia, Lenze Eric J
1 Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA.
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2018 Sep;87(2):111-123. doi: 10.1177/0091415017729684. Epub 2017 Nov 15.
Older adults are the largest consumer of cable news, which includes negative and politicized content and may constitute a daily stressor. As older adults are also vulnerable to the negative consequences of stress, we hypothesized that cable news watching could induce a stress reaction and impair cognitive function. We tested exposures to cable news (i.e., Fox News and MSNBC) in a within-subject randomized controlled design in 34 healthy older adults. We also included negative (Public Broadcasting Station) and positive (trier social stress test) controls. Cable news watching had no effect on psychological stress, physiological stress, or cognitive function. This remained true even if the news exposures were discordant with participants' political affiliation. We conclude that brief cable news watching does not induce a physiological or subjective stress response or cognitive impairment among healthy older adults.
老年人是有线电视新闻的最大消费群体，这类新闻包含负面和政治化内容，可能构成日常压力源。由于老年人也容易受到压力负面影响，我们推测观看有线电视新闻可能引发压力反应并损害认知功能。我们在34名健康老年人中采用受试者内随机对照设计，测试了观看有线电视新闻（即福克斯新闻和微软全国广播公司节目）的情况。我们还纳入了负面（公共广播公司）和正面（特里尔社会应激测试）对照。观看有线电视新闻对心理压力、生理压力或认知功能没有影响。即便新闻内容与参与者的政治倾向不一致，情况依然如此。我们得出结论，在健康老年人中，短时间观看有线电视新闻不会引发生理或主观压力反应，也不会导致认知障碍。
