Wong Aekyeong, Choi Yun-Kyeung, Lee Jae-Ho, Lee Hong-Seock
Posttraumatic Growth Center, Department of Psychiatry, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychology, Keimyung University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2024;15(1):2429268. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2429268. Epub 2024 Dec 2.
The 2014 Sewol ferry disaster is the only South Korean mass casualty incident broadcasted in real time and the first instance of the nation collectively experiencing a disaster through social media. Compared to the large body of literature on disaster media as a stressor, its role as a coping tool remains underexplored. We explored the associations between coping styles in disaster media use and the psychological impact of the Sewol ferry disaster among the South Korean general public. A paper-based survey of the nationwide general population ( = 876) evaluated disaster media use from the perspective of the approach-avoidance model of coping and assessed levels of posttraumatic distress and perceived growth. Participants were divided into three groups based on their coping orientation towards the media around the Sewol ferry disaster: approach-oriented (i.e. actively seeking out event-related news; = 282; 32.2%), avoidance-oriented (i.e. intentionally avoiding event-related news; = 69; 7.9%), and neutral (neither seeking nor avoiding event-related news; = 474; 54.1%). The levels of posttraumatic distress and perceived growth were compared between these groups with ANCOVA controlling for age, sex, and/or the date of survey participation. Approach-oriented disaster media use was associated with both elevated posttraumatic distress and perceived growth, while avoidance-oriented disaster media use was associated with elevated posttraumatic distress without significant perceived growth. The neutral group reported the lowest levels of both posttraumatic distress and perceived growth. The findings demonstrated that not posttraumatic distress but perceived growth was the distinguishing factor between the two coping styles in disaster media use. This suggests the potential benefits of approach-oriented disaster media use, considering the salutogenic role of perceived growth in the recovery process. Future longitudinal research is required to determine the predictive role of disaster media use as coping.
2014年“岁月号”客轮灾难是韩国唯一一次实时播报的重大伤亡事件，也是该国首次通过社交媒体集体经历灾难。与大量将灾难媒体视为压力源的文献相比，其作为应对工具的作用仍未得到充分探索。我们探讨了灾难媒体使用中的应对方式与韩国普通民众中“岁月号”客轮灾难的心理影响之间的关联。一项针对全国普通人群（n = 876）的纸质调查从应对的趋近 - 回避模型角度评估了灾难媒体的使用情况，并评估了创伤后应激水平和感知成长水平。参与者根据他们对“岁月号”客轮灾难相关媒体的应对取向分为三组：趋近取向（即积极寻找事件相关新闻；n = 282；32.2%）、回避取向（即有意回避事件相关新闻；n = 69；7.9%）和中立取向（既不寻找也不回避事件相关新闻；n = 474；54.1%）。通过协方差分析控制年龄、性别和/或调查参与日期，比较了这些组之间的创伤后应激水平和感知成长水平。趋近取向的灾难媒体使用与创伤后应激水平升高和感知成长均相关，而回避取向的灾难媒体使用与创伤后应激水平升高相关，但感知成长不显著。中立组报告的创伤后应激水平和感知成长水平均最低。研究结果表明，在灾难媒体使用的两种应对方式之间，区分因素不是创伤后应激，而是感知成长。考虑到感知成长在恢复过程中的健康促进作用，这表明了趋近取向的灾难媒体使用的潜在益处。未来需要进行纵向研究来确定灾难媒体使用作为应对方式的预测作用。
