Exposure to media coverage of terrorist acts, disasters may cause long-term negative health effects
The researchers looked at levels of acute stress in Boston and New York residents within a month after the Marathon bombing. The Boston residents were much closer to that act of terrorism, but the researchers did not find that proximity necessarily correlated with higher stress levels.
According to their report, New Yorkers already had somewhat heightened stress levels, due to their exposure to Superstorm Sandy, 9/11, and the Sandy Hook shooting, making their responses to the Marathon bombing comparable to those of Bostonians.
These findings do not imply that merely reading one article or watching a single program about a community trauma will necessarily increase stress. The research team’s first paper found that acute stress symptoms increased as the number of hours per day of bombing-related media exposure in the week following the bombing increased. People who reported three or more hours per day of media exposure reported higher stress symptoms than those who reported less than one hour per day, and individuals who reported six or more hours a day reported the highest levels of symptoms.
Their latest paper also notes that the effects of cumulative indirect trauma exposure are not universal.
“There’s variability in how this happens,” Holman said. “And that’s another research question that has to be addressed – to understand what leads to those differences, why some people have sensitivities and others don’t.”
There are other limits on the findings. The data were correlational — they showed a relationship between increased media exposure to traumatic events and the development of stress symptoms, but they do not provide a direct causal link. Still, based on the evidence the researchers have reviewed thus far, coupled with the findings from a similar study they conducted about exposure to media after the 9/11 attacks, the team members have recommendations for news consumers.
“My recommendation is to turn off the TV and not expose yourself too much through social media or other media sources,” Holman said. “Find out what you need to know from the news, but don’t overexpose yourself.”
Garfin emphasized that overexposure is the key factor.
“I wouldn’t say don’t stay informed or tune out the news,” she said. “It’s the repeated exposure to things, which probably isn’t giving you new information. We’re not saying turn off the TV totally. Stay informed, then go on with your daily life.”
The NSF notes that the researchers are likely to yield much more in the way of results on the topic. The latest paper represents the first wave of data collection they performed. There are four more following. Their next article, they said, will examine how specific types of media — such as television or social media — are associated with acute stress levels.
