Searching for Certainty During a Pandemic: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Moderating Role of Media Consumption on the Development of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms During COVID-19

The current study longitudinally examined the moderating effects of consuming different types of media (i.e., formal [news] and informal [social media, WhatsApp]) in the association among COVID-19-related worries, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs). Data were collected at two time points during July and September 2020, with approximately 60 days between measurements. Results showed that both COVID-19-related worries and IU were found to be positively associated with PTSSs. An interaction with formal media consumption was found, so that when one's formal media consumption was high, he or she were most vulnerable to the aforementioned effects on the development of PTSSs. Our findings point to the interactive effects of both COVID-19 worries and IU with media consumption on the development of PTSSs. Although media consumption might provide information during uncertainty, it may also intensify PTSSs during times of crisis. Implications and limitations are discussed.