The news media and psychological distress

Is the news making us unhappy? The influence of daily news exposure on emotional states

“…After being exposed to negative news reports, positive affect decreased, whereas negative affect, sadness, worries, and anxiety increased. Other studies have found indirect effects on psychological distress and negative affect through an increase in stress levels and irrational beliefs (McNaughton‐Cassill, ) or depression (Potts & Sanchez, ).…”

On the origin of worries about modern health hazards: Experimental evidence for a conjoint influence of media reports and personality traits

“…Previous research in the realm of health related media exposure effects found evidence for a moderating role of personality factors (e.g. optimism) for the levels of anxiety elicited by news media reports (McNaughton-Cassill, 2001). Because previous studies on MHW and IEI found significant associations with certain personality traits (Bailer et al, 2008a;Bailer, Witthöft, & Rist, 2008b), we assumed that especially two traits might represent relevant moderators: The personality trait of negative affectivity (i.e.…”

Relations between media use and self-reported symptomatology in young adolescents

“…The focus is on media influences as this area is characterized by dramatic changes in recent years (Livingstone & Bovill, 2001). With regard to the use of traditional media such as TV, previous studies (Cantor & Mares, 2001;Hoffner, 1995;McNaughton-Cassill, 2001) have shown negative influences on the wellbeing of children, adolescents and adults. However, children and adolescents are not only faced with traditional media such as TV, audio and print media but also with relatively new media such as computer-based media and video consoles.…”