Factors Associated With a Negative Emotional Response to News Media and Nationwide Emergency Text Alerts During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Korea

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Abstract

Objective

To prevent the spread of infection in Korea during the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, real-time warnings have been sent to all residents via mobile phones. This study examined the factors associated with the negative emotional response to media news and emergency text alerts in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A survey was completed by 1,500 adults from an online public panel in three regions. We used Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) to assess the level of depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. Questionnaires related to COVID-19 included fear of infection, and fear of disclose of contact-tracing information.

Results

The negative emotional response on both news media information and emergency alert text messages about COVID-19 was associated with fear of COVID-19 infection and high anxiety. The biggest outbreak city, Daegu was associated with the less negative emotional response on emergency alert text messages. Fear of disclose of contact-tracing information was significantly associated with negative emotional perception on emergency alter text messages.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that effective information providing services with considering vulnerable groups are needed to promote acceptance and eliminate negative emotion for disease related information.

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Most cited references 25

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A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7.

Robert L Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet B W Williams … (2006)

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common mental disorders; however, there is no brief clinical measure for assessing GAD. The objective of this study was to develop a brief self-report scale to identify probable cases of GAD and evaluate its reliability and validity. A criterion-standard study was performed in 15 primary care clinics in the United States from November 2004 through June 2005. Of a total of 2740 adult patients completing a study questionnaire, 965 patients had a telephone interview with a mental health professional within 1 week. For criterion and construct validity, GAD self-report scale diagnoses were compared with independent diagnoses made by mental health professionals; functional status measures; disability days; and health care use. A 7-item anxiety scale (GAD-7) had good reliability, as well as criterion, construct, factorial, and procedural validity. A cut point was identified that optimized sensitivity (89%) and specificity (82%). Increasing scores on the scale were strongly associated with multiple domains of functional impairment (all 6 Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form General Health Survey scales and disability days). Although GAD and depression symptoms frequently co-occurred, factor analysis confirmed them as distinct dimensions. Moreover, GAD and depression symptoms had differing but independent effects on functional impairment and disability. There was good agreement between self-report and interviewer-administered versions of the scale. The GAD-7 is a valid and efficient tool for screening for GAD and assessing its severity in clinical practice and research.

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Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China

Cuiyan Wang, Riyu Pan, Xiaoyang Wan … (2020)

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic is a public health emergency of international concern and poses a challenge to psychological resilience. Research data are needed to develop evidence-driven strategies to reduce adverse psychological impacts and psychiatric symptoms during the epidemic. The aim of this study was to survey the general public in China to better understand their levels of psychological impact, anxiety, depression, and stress during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. The data will be used for future reference. Methods: From 31 January to 2 February 2020, we conducted an online survey using snowball sampling techniques. The online survey collected information on demographic data, physical symptoms in the past 14 days, contact history with COVID-19, knowledge and concerns about COVID-19, precautionary measures against COVID-19, and additional information required with respect to COVID-19. Psychological impact was assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and mental health status was assessed by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: This study included 1210 respondents from 194 cities in China. In total, 53.8% of respondents rated the psychological impact of the outbreak as moderate or severe; 16.5% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms; 28.8% reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms; and 8.1% reported moderate to severe stress levels. Most respondents spent 20–24 h per day at home (84.7%); were worried about their family members contracting COVID-19 (75.2%); and were satisfied with the amount of health information available (75.1%). Female gender, student status, specific physical symptoms (e.g., myalgia, dizziness, coryza), and poor self-rated health status were significantly associated with a greater psychological impact of the outbreak and higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (p < 0.05). Specific up-to-date and accurate health information (e.g., treatment, local outbreak situation) and particular precautionary measures (e.g., hand hygiene, wearing a mask) were associated with a lower psychological impact of the outbreak and lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (p < 0.05). Conclusions: During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, more than half of the respondents rated the psychological impact as moderate-to-severe, and about one-third reported moderate-to-severe anxiety. Our findings identify factors associated with a lower level of psychological impact and better mental health status that can be used to formulate psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak

Junling Gao, Pinpin Zheng, Yingnan Jia … (2020)

Huge citizens expose to social media during a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbroke in Wuhan, China. We assess the prevalence of mental health problems and examine their association with social media exposure. A cross-sectional study among Chinese citizens aged≥18 years old was conducted during Jan 31 to Feb 2, 2020. Online survey was used to do rapid assessment. Total of 4872 participants from 31 provinces and autonomous regions were involved in the current study. Besides demographics and social media exposure (SME), depression was assessed by The Chinese version of WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and anxiety was assessed by Chinese version of generalized anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7). multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify associations between social media exposure with mental health problems after controlling for covariates. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and combination of depression and anxiety (CDA) was 48.3% (95%CI: 46.9%-49.7%), 22.6% (95%CI: 21.4%-23.8%) and 19.4% (95%CI: 18.3%-20.6%) during COVID-19 outbroke in Wuhan, China. More than 80% (95%CI:80.9%-83.1%) of participants reported frequently exposed to social media. After controlling for covariates, frequently SME was positively associated with high odds of anxiety (OR = 1.72, 95%CI: 1.31–2.26) and CDA (OR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.52–2.41) compared with less SME. Our findings show there are high prevalence of mental health problems, which positively associated with frequently SME during the COVID-19 outbreak. These findings implicated the government need pay more attention to mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety among general population and combating with “infodemic” while combating during public health emergency.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Psychiatry Investig

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Psychiatry Investig

Journal ID (publisher-id): PI

Title: Psychiatry Investigation

Publisher: Korean Neuropsychiatric Association

ISSN (Print): 1738-3684

ISSN (Electronic): 1976-3026

Publication date (Print): September 2021

Publication date (Electronic): 10 September 2021

Volume: 18

Issue: 9

Pages: 825-830

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

[2 ]Gwang-ju Mental Health Commission, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

Author notes

Correspondence: Sung-Wan Kim, MD, PhD Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, 160 Baekseo-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61469, Republic of Korea Tel: +82-62-220-6148, Fax: +82-62-225-2351 E-mail: swkim@ 123456chonnam.ac.kr

Author information

Ju-Yeon Lee http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0653-7223

Mina Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2295-6786

Min Jhon http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0408-768X

Ju-Wan Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9888-1090

Seunghyong Ryu http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6127-760X

Jae-Min Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7409-6306

Sung-Wan Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6739-2163

Article

Publisher ID: pi-2021-0087

DOI: 10.30773/pi.2021.0087

PMC ID: 8473856

PubMed ID: 34500508

SO-VID: 2d1a76a1-8d80-4d7e-a54c-6283a25e4e0c

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

History

Date received : 8 March 2021

Date revision received : 23 May 2021

Date accepted : 1 July 2021

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Factors Associated With a Negative Emotional Response to News Media and Nationwide Emergency Text Alerts During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Korea

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Abstract

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Conclusion

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 25

A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7.

Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China

Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak

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