He Xiangcai, Zhang Yu, Chen Meng, Zhang Jihong, Zou Weixing, Luo Yu
School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.
Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2021 Feb 10;11:613368. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.613368. eCollection 2020.
Previous studies have found that disaster-related media exposure could predict acute stress responses. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between media exposure to COVID-19 and acute stress, and less is known about the mechanisms that translate media exposure to COVID-19 into acute stress. The current study explored the impact of media exposure to COVID-19 on acute stress, and examined the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and the moderating role of perceived social support (PSS). A total of 1,483 Chinese participants ( = 27.93 years, = 8.45) completed anonymous online questionnaires regarding media exposure to COVID-19, IU, PSS, and acute stress during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Media exposure to COVID-19 was positively related to acute stress, and IU partially mediated this relationship. The direct effect of media exposure to COVID-19 on acute stress, and the relationship between IU and acute stress, were both moderated by PSS. The impacts of both media exposure to COVID-19 and IU on acute stress were stronger for individuals with low PSS. This study collected data in a shorter timeframe, and no assessments occurred during the follow-up, which may prevent us from detecting the changes of the relationships between variables over time. Meanwhile, the self-report method limited the validity of the data due to subjective reporting bias. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how and when pandemic-related media exposure affects acute stress, and provide new perspectives for the prevention to reduce psychological problems following traumatic events.
以往的研究发现，与灾难相关的媒体曝光可以预测急性应激反应。然而，很少有研究调查接触新冠疫情相关媒体与急性应激之间的关系，对于将接触新冠疫情相关媒体转化为急性应激的机制了解更少。本研究探讨了接触新冠疫情相关媒体对急性应激的影响，并检验了不确定性不耐受（IU）的中介作用和感知社会支持（PSS）的调节作用。共有1483名中国参与者（年龄 = 27.93岁，标准差 = 8.45）在新冠疫情在中国爆发期间，完成了关于接触新冠疫情相关媒体、不确定性不耐受、感知社会支持和急性应激的匿名在线问卷。接触新冠疫情相关媒体与急性应激呈正相关，不确定性不耐受部分中介了这种关系。接触新冠疫情相关媒体对急性应激的直接效应以及不确定性不耐受与急性应激之间的关系，均受到感知社会支持的调节。对于感知社会支持较低的个体，接触新冠疫情相关媒体和不确定性不耐受对急性应激的影响更强。本研究在较短时间内收集数据，且随访期间未进行评估，这可能使我们无法检测变量之间关系随时间的变化。同时，自我报告法由于主观报告偏差限制了数据的有效性。这些发现有助于更好地理解与大流行相关的媒体曝光如何以及何时影响急性应激，并为预防创伤事件后减少心理问题提供了新的视角。
