Media Use During COVID-19: An Investigation of Negative Effects on the Mental Health of Asian Versus White Americans
TL;DR: This article examined the role of media use on mental health distress during the COVID-19 global pandemic and found that media messages that document and promote anti-Asian racism are likely to be especially salient and influential.
Abstract: The role of media use on mental health distress is particularly concerning during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The vulnerabilities to and experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States are greatly influenced by racial/ethnic inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic may present unique mental health challenges for Asian Americans because of racial targeting and limited access to and engagement with mental health care. This present investigation examines whether the association between media use and mental health distress is more pronounced for Asian Americans for whom media messages that document and promote anti-Asian racism are likely to be especially salient and influential. Using a national survey of Asian (n = 524) and White (n = 527) American participants, our findings reveal that racial/ethnic identity interacted with the negative effect of media use on mental health for Asian Americans, but not for White Americans. We also explored whether the effect of media use on mental health was mediated by social and health risk perceptions. Results revealed that even though imagined stigma was associated with mental health distress, it did not mediate the effect of media use on mental health. Health risk perceptions mediated the negative effect of media use on both psychosocial distress and loneliness. Implications for health communication, media studies, and anti-Asian racism are discussed, especially in the context of health crises.
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TL;DR: In this paper , a review summarizes the progress of social media data mining studies in the COVID-19 contexts and categorizes them into six major domains, including early warning and detection, human mobility monitoring, communication and information conveying, public attitudes and emotions, infodemic and misinformation, and hatred and violence.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors used a data set of geolocated tweets that match with keywords reflecting COVID-19 and anti-Asian hate and identified geographical clusters using the space-time scan statistic with Bernoulli model.
Abstract: Objectives. To illustrate the spatiotemporal distribution of geolocated tweets that contain anti-Asian hate language in the contiguous United States during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. We used a data set of geolocated tweets that match with keywords reflecting COVID-19 and anti-Asian hate and identified geographical clusters using the space-time scan statistic with Bernoulli model. Results. Anti-Asian hate language surged between January and March 2020. We found clusters of hate across the contiguous United States. The strongest cluster consisted of a single county (Ross County, Ohio), where the proportion of hateful tweets was 312.13 times higher than for the rest of the country. Conclusions. Anti-Asian hate on Twitter exhibits a significantly clustered spatiotemporal distribution. Clusters vary in size, duration, strength, and location and are scattered across the entire contiguous United States. Public Health Implications. Our results can inform decision-makers in public health and safety for allocating resources for place-based preparedness and response for pandemic-induced racism as a public health threat. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(4):646-649. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306653.
5 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that Spanish and Chinese speakers did not consistently receive information about protective behaviors from key public health and government institutions early in the pandemic and used a diverse set of information resources that included family and friends, social media, and traditional media from both inside and outside the United States.
Abstract: People with limited English proficiency in the United States have suffered disproportionate negative health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective communications are critical tools in addressing inequities insofar as they can motivate adoption of protective behaviors and reduce incidence of disease; however, little is known about experiences of communities with limited English proficiency receiving relevant information during COVID-19 or other outbreaks. To address this gap and provide inputs for communication strategies, we completed a study based on 2 novel and nationally representative surveys conducted between June and August 2020 among Spanish and Chinese speakers with limited English proficiency (n = 764 and n = 355, respectively). Results first showed that Spanish and Chinese speakers did not consistently receive information about protective behaviors from key public health and government institutions early in the pandemic. Second, for such information, Spanish and Chinese speakers used a diverse set of information resources that included family and friends, social media, and traditional media from both inside and outside the United States. Third, Spanish and Chinese speakers faced challenges getting COVID-19 information, including receiving media messages that felt discriminatory toward Latinx or Chinese people. Together, these findings suggest gaps in effectively reaching Spanish and Chinese speakers. Data highlight the important role of bilingual materials to support sharing of information between Spanish or Chinese speakers and English speakers within their social networks, and the need for digital news content for traditional and social media. Finally, efforts are needed to address discriminatory messaging in media and to actively counter it in public health communications.
1 citations
TL;DR: In this article , a bibliometric analysis of research on COVID-19 health communication is presented, where 1,851 articles published in 170 peer-reviewed communication journals between January 2020 and November 2022, to identify key bibliometric information and major research topics in this rapidly expanding field of research.
Abstract: This article presents a bibliometric analysis of research on COVID-19 health communication. We reviewed and analyzed 1,851 articles published in 170 peer-reviewed communication journals between January 2020 and November 2022, to identify key bibliometric information and major research topics in this rapidly expanding field of research. The distribution of countries indicates that the United States is the most productive country, and researchers from Spain, China and the United Kingdom also play an important role. Health Communication is the most influential journal in terms of research productivity and impact. The analysis of highly cited references demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of this research field. The topics generated by structural topic modeling show that scholars have responded to a variety of issues in COVID-19 communication, encompassing different levels of health communication, the effects of information dissemination, the impact on the general public as well as vulnerable populations, health preventive behaviors and communication technologies. This study aims to enhance researchers' understanding of the current state of this research field and provide insights for future studies.
TL;DR: The authors examined how women have been represented within a diverse corpus of minority news, and explore how these representations serve to bridge between different social groups, finding that women are covered in an inclusive and empowering way, containing perspectives and concerns unique to the minority group.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately negative affect on women, especially women from minoritized groups. Minority news media are an important information source for these groups, when it comes to providing alternative views, and health related information. Whilst the poor representation of women in COVID-19 related mainstream news coverage is acknowledged, little is known regarding the representation of women in digital minority news content, during the pandemic and beyond. Considering this gap, we examine how women have been represented within a diverse corpus of minority news, and explore how these representations serve to bridge between different social groups. Critically analyzing the representation of these marginalized groups offers a lens through which we can better understand the function of minority news media in a democracy. Using critical discourse analysis, this study examines three online minority newspapers and one podcast from the US. Findings show that women are covered in an inclusive and empowering way, containing perspectives and concerns unique to the minority group, strengthening identities, platforming community-specific issues, communicating a call to action, and promoting intersectional solidarity. These representations also reveal the complex tensions between counterhegemonic and dominant publics which minority news media sources constantly negotiate through their content.
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Uppsala University1, Karolinska Institutet2, University of Glasgow3, University College London4, University of Oxford5, King's College London6, University of Exeter7, Black Dog Institute8, University of California, Irvine9, University of Cambridge10, Swansea University11, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust12, UCL Institute of Child Health13, St George's, University of London14, Emory University15, University of Bristol16, Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom17
TL;DR: There is an urgent need for research to address how mental health consequences for vulnerable groups can be mitigated under pandemic conditions, and on the impact of repeated media consumption and health messaging around COVID-19.
3,909 citations
TL;DR: The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) as mentioned in this paper is based on Leventhal's (1970) danger control/fear control framework, which is used to explain why fear appeals fail and re-incorporate fear as a central variable.
Abstract: The fear appeal literature is diverse and inconsistent Existing fear appeal theories explain the positive linear results occurring in many studies, but are unable to explain the boomerang or curvilinear results occurring in other studies The present work advances a theory integrating previous theoretical perspectives (ie, Janis, 1967; Leventhal, 1970; Rogers, 1975, 1983) that is based on Leventhal's (1970) danger control/fear control framework The proposed fear appeal theory, called the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), expands on previous approaches in three ways: (a) by explaining why fear appeals fail; (b) by re‐incorporating fear as a central variable; and (c) by specifying the relationship between threat and efficacy in propositional forms Specific propositions are given to guide future research
3,077 citations
TL;DR: The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with highly significant levels of psychological distress that, in many cases, would meet the threshold for clinical relevance.
3,011 citations
TL;DR: The Covid-19 pandemic and the public health response to it will undoubtedly contribute to widespread emotional distress and increased risk of mental health problems.
Abstract: Mental Health and the Covid-19 Pandemic Many aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the public health response to it will undoubtedly contribute to widespread emotional distress and increased risk fo...
2,970 citations
TL;DR: A short loneliness scale developed specifically for use on a telephone survey is described, finding that objective and subjective isolation are related, indicating that the quantitative and qualitative aspects of social relationships are distinct.
Abstract: Most studies of social relationships in later life focus on the amount of social contact, not on individuals' perceptions of social isolation. However, loneliness is likely to be an important aspect of aging. A major limiting factor in studying loneliness has been the lack of a measure suitable for large-scale social surveys. This article describes a short loneliness scale developed specifically for use on a telephone survey. The scale has three items and a simplified set of response categories but appears to measure overall loneliness quite well. The authors also document the relationship between loneliness and several commonly used measures of objective social isolation. As expected, they find that objective and subjective isolation are related. However, the relationship is relatively modest, indicating that the quantitative and qualitative aspects of social relationships are distinct. This result suggests the importance of studying both dimensions of social relationships in the aging process.
2,513 citations