UC Irvine

Technological advancements allow individuals to access news about collective traumas from multiple sources simultaneously, potentially increasing the amount of media consumed during a given crisis. While excessive media consumption during a collective trauma has been linked to negative psychological outcomes (e.g., posttraumatic stress symptoms), there are many situations in which it is impractical or even dangerous to advise the public to reduce media consumption. This dissertation examined the link between media exposure and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses during and following three collective traumas using large, probability-based samples and longitudinal designs. Among a sample of Texas residents following Hurricane Harvey (N = 1,137), Study 1 found that trust in media buffered against traumatic stress symptoms two weeks, six weeks, and 14 months post-landfall for people with high amounts of early media exposure to the disaster. Study 2 demonstrated that during Hurricane Irma, pre-landfall risk perceptions of injury and destruction, measured in the days before landfall, mediated the relationship between pre-landfall media exposure and evacuation behaviors measured one month after the hurricane among a sample of Florida residents (N = 1,478). This study underscored the importance of the media and emergency management personnel communicating transparent, non-sensationalized information for emergency decisions as a disaster unfolds. Study 3 explored how early media consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with long-term risk perception patterns among a national U.S. sample (N = 4,859). In addition, early media consumption and risk perception patterns were linked with vaccine uptake throughout the pandemic. These findings suggest that various aspects of early disaster media consumption (i.e., disaster-based media exposure, ideological focus of top news sources, perceived trust in media for specific disasters) are associated with traumatic stress symptoms, risk perceptions, evacuation behaviors, and vaccine uptake over time. Using large, probability-based samples with longitudinal data, this program of research provides insights for policymakers, media outlets, and emergency management personnel, advocating for trustworthy, direct communication to support appropriate risk perceptions, public health behaviors, and safety during disasters. This work also aids in understanding the nuanced relationships between media consumption and psychological outcomes and behaviors during collective traumas, contributing to the literature for updated communication strategies and interventions.