Television News Media Consumption and Misperceptions about COVID-19 among US Populations at High Risk for Severe Health Outcomes Early in the Pandemic

Negative Social Exchanges During the Pandemic, Loneliness, and the Mediating Role of Stress and Feeling Misunderstood Among People at High-Risk for COVID-19 Related Complications

The goal of this study was to investigate the links between social interactions and mental health for people who are high-risk for COVID-19 complications. Specifically, we tested the relationships between negative social exchanges during the pandemic and loneliness through two mediators: stress and feeling misunderstood about one's health status. Data were collected via Amazon's MTurk from participants (N = 271) who self-identified as being high-risk for COVID-19. The results from our model showed both a direct association between negative social interactions and loneliness, and an indirect link between these variables through stress. Overall, these results highlight the importance of understanding social interactions for people who are at high-risk for COVID-19 and their mental well-being. The results and implications are discussed.

COVID-19 coverage from six network and cable news sources in the United States: Representation of misinformation, correction, and portrayals of severity

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is marked by divisions in perceptions of disease severity as well as misperceptions about the virus and vaccine that vary along ideological and political party lines. Perceptual differences may be due to differences in the information about the virus that individuals are exposed to within their own identity-affirming ideological news bubbles. This content analysis of six different national network transcripts highlights differences in coverage of severity, and the prevalence of misinformation and its correction that are consistent with previously established preferred news channels of conservatives/Republicans and liberals/Democrats and their perceptions and misperceptions about the pandemic. Results contribute to the growing body of country-specific COVID-19 media studies that allow for comparisons across nations with different cultures and media systems, as these factors play a pivotal role in national responses and experiences.

Goal Disruption and Psychological Disequilibrium During the Outbreak of COVID-19: The Roles of Uncertainty, Information Seeking and Social Support

Using panel data from mainland China, this study incorporates uncertainty, information seeking, and social support into the goal disruption theoretical model to examine the indirect influence of goal disruption on psychological disequilibrium through uncertainty and the moderating roles of information seeking and social support in this relationship. The results demonstrate that goal disruption causes uncertainty and then leads to psychological disequilibrium. Information seeking can reduce uncertainty and social support can attenuate psychological disequilibrium as well. Limitations and further directions are discussed.