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Cited by 23Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionCOVID-19 and Mental HealthMental Health via Writing

Understanding terror states of online users in the context of COVID-19: An application of Terror Management Theory

Open access
Barnes, Stuart J.·2021·Computers in Human Behavior
DOI 10.1016/j.chb.2021.106967PMC PMC8867060
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided psych challenges for many in society. One such challenge is the anxiety that is created in many people faced with the risk of death from the disease. Another issue is understanding how individuals cope psychologically with the threat of death from the disease. In this study we examine the manifestation of death anxiety and various coping mechanisms through the lens of terror management theory (TMT) and online platforms. We take a novel approach to testing the theory using big data analytics and machine learning, focusing on the user-generated content of Twitter users. Based on a sample of all tweets in the UK mentioning COVID-19 terms over a 5-month period, we evaluate dictionary mentions of anxiety and death, and various TMT defense mechanisms, and calculate the pattern of latent death anxiety or ‘terror’ states of Twitter users via Hidden Markov Models. The research identifies four online ‘terror’ states, with high death and anxiety mentions during the peak of the pandemic. Further we examine various TMT defense mechanisms that have been proposed in the literature for coping with death anxiety and find that online social connection, achievement and religion all play important roles in improving the model and explaining movement between states. The paper concludes with various implications of the study for future research and practice.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.chb.2021.106967

Cites

61 of 61 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

14 of 39 cited sources checked · 5 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

  • Premisecitation

    TMT suggests that death anxiety increases with the threat source, including COVID-19.

    “TMT suggests that death anxiety will increase with the threat source, including that of COVID-19 (Courtney et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Courtney et al., 2020 source

      The paper’s opening section says COVID-19 provokes fear, and its opening summary predicts that the pandemic is likely to activate mortality awareness. It qualifies that prediction as varying with situational factors; it does not specifically predict that death anxiety will increase with the threat source. (LLM, conf=0.78)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Premisecitation

    Religion has been found to be an important defense mechanism within TMT.

    “Religion has been found to be an important defense mechanism within TMT (Greenberg et al., 1986).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Greenberg et al., 1986 source
  • Premisecitation

    There has been no large-scale test of TMT applicability in the COVID-19 context using available data.

    “However, although various conceptual models and discussions based on TMT have been proposed during the COVID-19 era (e.g. see Courtney et al., 2020), there has been no large-scale test of the applicability of TMT in this context using available data.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Courtney et al., 2020 source
  • Findingown data

    The analysis identified four latent online terror states.

    “The research identifies four online ‘terror’ states, with high death and anxiety mentions during the peak of the pandemic.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: LIWC dictionary scores for anxiety and death validly measure the psychological constructs of death anxiety and terror states.
    • Rests on an assumption: The latent states estimated by the Hidden Markov Model correspond to psychological terror states.
  • Findingown data

    Death and anxiety mentions were high during the peak of the pandemic.

    “The research identifies four online ‘terror’ states, with high death and anxiety mentions during the peak of the pandemic.”
    • Also stated in: § Data collection, preparation and exploration · plain
      “Although, anxiety and death mentions are high during the peak of the pandemic, anxiety is elevated in mid-March, well before cases begin to rise sharply, while both anxiety and death mentions continue to be high well beyond the peak.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: LIWC dictionary scores for anxiety and death validly measure the psychological constructs of death anxiety and terror states.
    • Rests on an assumption: The latent states estimated by the Hidden Markov Model correspond to psychological terror states.
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 31
  • May combine two claims. 26

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    TMT suggests individuals maintain self-esteem by maintaining faith in worldviews and living up to their standards.

    “TMT suggests that individuals maintain self-esteem by maintaining faith in worldviews and living up to the standards of these worldviews (Greenberg et al., 1986).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Greenberg et al., 1986 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Symbolic immortality can be reached by personal achievement that creates a significant reminder of existence after death.

    “Such symbolic immortality can be reached by personal achievement that creates a significant reminder of existence after death (Greenberg et al., 1986).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Greenberg et al., 1986 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Wisman and Goldenberg found a greater desire for children.

    “Mikulincer et al. (2003) found that individuals’ mortality salience was linked with greater attraction to partners, while Wisman and Goldenberg (2005) found a greater desire for children.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Wisman and Goldenberg, 2005 source

      The paper reports greater desire for children after mortality salience, but the finding is conditional. Its opening summary (p. 1) says men, but not women, desired more children in three studies; the Discussion (p. 12) reports an increase among women when having children was presented as compatible with career success. The citing sentence omits these qualifications. (LLM, conf=0.88)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    COVID-19 creates death anxiety and can affect mental health through mortality salience.

    “There is no doubt that COVID-19 creates death anxiety and can affect mental health through mortality salience – reminders of death (Jungmann & Witthöft, 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Jungmann & Witthöft, 2020 source

      The Introduction (page unavailable) says COVID-19 is associated with anxiety and psychological stress, and the Discussion (page unavailable) reports substantial anxiety about SARS-CoV-2 among respondents. The paper does not establish that this is death anxiety or that reminders of death—mortality salience—are the mechanism affecting mental health. (LLM, conf=0.86)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Perach and Wisman found that creativity was associated with lower death-thought accessibility and mortality salience.

    “Perach and Wisman (2019) found that creativity (related to idea generation) was associated with lower death-thought accessibility and mortality salience.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Perach and Wisman, 2019 source

      The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that creative achievement was associated with lower death-thought accessibility under mortality salience, but only among participants with high creative goals. The claim omits that condition, describes the measured factor as creativity related to idea generation rather than creative achievement, and treats mortality salience as something lowered; the paper used it as an experimental condition. (LLM, conf=0.91)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Farooq et al. found that sharing COVID-19 information online could contribute to coping perceptions and intention to self-isolate, but also to cyberchondria and information overload.

    “In the context of the pandemic, Farooq et al. (2020) found that sharing information about COVID-19 online could contribute to individual coping perceptions and to their intention to self-isolate, but also to cyberchondria and information overload.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Farooq et al., 2020 source

      The Discussion (Principal Results and Implications of Findings; page not provided) reports that cyberchondria and information overload shaped coping or threat perceptions and, through them, self-isolation intention. It also reports higher levels of both among people who used social media as an information source. The study does not establish that sharing COVID-19 information online had those effects; it examined receiving or using online information, not sharing it. (LLM, conf=0.88)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Social media can support coping, offer support, and enable individuals to reach out during social distancing and isolation.

    “Social media can support coping processes, offer sources of support, and enable individuals to reach out in times of social distancing and isolation.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim2 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Talbot et al., 2020 source

      The Community section reports that people with dementia used Twitter to offer support, and the Discussion suggests that Twitter communities may provide social connection and reduce isolation after a diagnosis. The paper does not address social distancing, and its findings about people affected by dementia do not establish the claim for individuals generally or for coping processes broadly. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Berry et al., 2017 source

      The Results (Theme 4; page unavailable) describe tweeting about mental health as a coping mechanism. Theme 1 (page unavailable) reports that users sought support and connection through Twitter, including when unable to go out, and perceived it as reducing isolation. The paper does not examine social distancing specifically, so that setting is not established by this source. (LLM, conf=0.85)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    TMT explains coping with death awareness through hope for literal or symbolic immortality.

    “TMT provides explanations for mechanisms to cope with death awareness via the hope for literal or symbolic immortality (Solomon et al., 1991).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Solomon et al., 1991 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Previous research found that more than half of individuals exhibit anxiety during virus-induced epidemics or pandemics.

    “Previous research has found that more than half of individuals exhibit anxiety during virus-induced epidemics or pandemics (Bults et al., 2011; Goulia et al., 2010).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim2 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Bults et al., 2011 source

      The Results section (Time-trends in perceived risk, feelings of anxiety, and behavioural responses; no page number available) reports a high anxiety summary score for 61% of Dutch respondents in the first H1N1 survey. That supports the claim for one early-pandemic survey, but the proportion fell below half in subsequent surveys (40%, 39%, and 36%); the paper does not establish that more than half of individuals generally experience anxiety during epidemics or pandemics. (LLM, conf=0.86)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Goulia et al., 2010 source

      The Abstract Results report that 56.7% of healthcare workers were worried about the A/H1N1 pandemic and describe their anxiety as moderately high. This supports the more-than-half figure, but the study concerns hospital staff during one pandemic, not individuals generally across virus-induced epidemics or pandemics. (LLM, conf=0.88)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Online social connection, achievement, and religion each improve the model and help explain transitions between terror states.

    “Further we examine various TMT defense mechanisms that have been proposed in the literature for coping with death anxiety and find that online social connection, achievement and religion all play important roles in improving the model and explaining movement between states.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: LIWC dictionary scores for anxiety and death validly measure the psychological constructs of death anxiety and terror states.
    • Rests on an assumption: The latent states estimated by the Hidden Markov Model correspond to psychological terror states.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingcitation

    The data on new COVID-19 cases shows a peak between April 1 and May 1.

    “This shows a peak between April (day 32 = 1st April) and May (day 62 = 1st May).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Public Health England, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The levels of anxiety and death extracted from tweets differ significantly between the four terror states, which are well separated.

    “As we can see, the levels of anxiety and death extracted from the tweets differ significantly between the four terror states, which appear well separated.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Anxiety increases in steps of approximately 100 up to state 3 (intercept 316.0) and state 4 (intercept 420.8), with similar spread to the low state.

    “Anxiety increases in steps of approximately 100 up to state 3 (“moderate”, intercept = 316.0) and further up to state 4 (“high”, intercept = 420.8), with similar levels of spread to the low state.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Anxiety increases from baseline to the low state by a little under 50, with a standard deviation of 55.1.

    “anxiety increases by a little under 50 and has tighter spread than the baseline (S.D. = 55.1)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the baseline state, anxiety has a higher intercept (164.7) and greater variability (SD 196.8) than death (intercept 60.0, SD 66.8).

    “The baseline for anxiety is higher (intercept = 164.7) and with greater variability (S.D. = 196.8) than that of death (intercept = 60.0; S.D. = 66.8).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The four-state model has the lowest AIC (3616.3) and BIC (3710.2) among the tested models and is selected as the best-fitting solution.

    “Since the nadir occurs at the four-state model (AIC = 3616.3, BIC = 3710.2) we select this as the best-fitting solution and will use four states in our future models.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Death increases in steps of approximately 146-177 up to the moderate and high states, with a higher standard deviation for state 4 (108.8).

    “Death increases in much bigger steps of approximately 146–177 up to the moderate and high states, with a higher standard deviation for state 4 (S.D. = 108.8).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    State 2 is associated with lower Achievement (-5.429) and Social (-9.123).

    “and lower Achievement and Social for State 2 (−5.429 and −9.123 respectively).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the final four-state model, the response parameters are very similar to the baseline model, but most are slightly smaller, particularly the standard deviations for state 3 and the levels of Anxiety and Death for state 4.

    “The levels of the intercepts and standard deviations are very similar to those of the baseline model in Table 2, but most are very slightly smaller, particularly the standard deviations for state 3 (“moderate” terror state), and the levels of Anxiety and Death for state 4 (“high” terror state).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Social and Achievement are elevated during the peak of the pandemic but most active with sharp spikes between 60 and 90 days.

    “The other transition model covariates, Social and Achievement, although elevated during the peak of the pandemic, appear most active, with sharp spikes in mentions, between 60 and 90 days.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The value of Achievement was supported by AIC but not by BIC.

    “The value of this concept was supported by AIC, but not by BIC, suggesting that it should perhaps be scrutinized in more detail in future research.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    A significant body of research has examined defensive tactics people use to cope with death anxiety, including meaning from religion and social group affiliations.

    “Further, there is a significant body of research that has examined the defensive tactics employed by people to cope with death anxiety, including via meaning derived through socio-cultural frameworks, such as those of a religious nature, and from affiliations and linkages to particular social groups (Burke et al., 2010).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Burke et al., 2010 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Research on TMT and defense mechanisms, often called anxiety buffers, has been replicated across many countries and contexts.

    “Research on TMT and defense mechanisms, often referred to as “anxiety buffers”, has been replicated across many countries and contexts (Pyszczynski et al., 2015).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Pyszczynski et al., 2015 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Religious beliefs have the benefit of being not easily disconfirmed, all encompassing, and promising literal immortality.

    “Religious beliefs have the benefit, from a defense mechanism perspective, of being not easily disconfirmed, all encompassing, and promising literal immortality (Vail et al., 2010).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Vail et al., 2010 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Symbolic immortality can be developed through creating a valued contribution and reminders of existence such as family, friends, group affiliation, fortunes, or achievement.

    “Symbolic immortality can be developed through creation a valued contribution to the worlds they inhabit and reminders of existence, such as families, friends, group affiliation, fortunes or other signifiers of achievement.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Pyszczynski et al., 2015 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Pittman and Reich found that image-based social media may attenuate loneliness, while text-based Twitter appeared ineffectual.

    “Pittman and Reich (2016) found that while image-based social media such as Instagram may attenuate loneliness due to increased social presence, text-based social media such as Twitter appeared ineffectual.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Pittman and Reich, 2016 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Fischer-Preßler et al. found that during the Berlin terrorist attack, Twitter was used for sense-making, validating worldviews, and maintaining self-esteem.

    “Fischer-Preßler et al. (2019) found that, in the context of the Berlin terrorist attack, Twitter was used for sense-making, to validate worldviews and to maintain self-esteem.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Fischer-Preßler et al., 2019 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Dechesne et al. found that sports fan affiliation can provide an effective buffer against death concerns.

    “Dechesne et al. (2000) found that sports fan affiliation can provide an effective buffer against death concerns.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Dechesne et al., 2000 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The transition probabilities suggest a clear upward path in terror states to the moderate state, but significant variability between states 3 and 4.

    “This appears to suggest a clear upward path in terror states to the moderate state, but significant variability (high probability of switching) between states 3 and 4.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    A total of 152,331 tweets were downloaded, and after screening non-English content, 125,218 English tweets remained.

    “A total of 152,331 tweets were downloaded (the remainder were presumably not attributed to the UK or no longer available for download). The tweets downloaded were pre-processed and screened for non-English content, resulting in 125,218 English tweets.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductnone given

    The approach has strengths in analyzing large amounts of user-generated content over time to make psychological inferences where individual-level analysis is difficult.

    “The approach has particular strengths in analyzing large amounts of user-generated content over a period of time to make psychological inferences where it is difficult to analyze data at the level of the individual user.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The latent states estimated by the Hidden Markov Model correspond to psychological terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Self-esteem defends against death anxiety, leading individuals to think about mortality and defend self-esteem more ardently.

    “Self-esteem provides a defense for individuals against their death anxiety, which in turn leads them to think about their own mortality (or mortality salience), and defending their self-esteem more ardently, working harder to prove worthiness (Burke et al., 2010).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Burke et al., 2010 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Cox et al. found that death awareness was linked to more positive associations with parents.

    “Cox et al. (2008) found that death awareness was linked to more positive associations with parents.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Cox et al., 2008 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    This includes amassing financial wealth, building families, tangible artefacts, and intangible artefacts.

    “This includes amassing financial wealth, building families, tangible artefacts such as monuments, books, pictures or music, and intangible artefacts, such as ideas or memories (Pyszczynski et al., 2015).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Pyszczynski et al., 2015 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisenone given

    TMT posits that awareness of death creates primal fear or terror.

    “Terror Management Theory (TMT) posits that awareness of death creates primal fear or terror.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Some authors suggested TMT can explain consumer behaviour such as conspicuous displays of wealth through consumption.

    “Some authors have suggested that terror management theory can be used to explain consumer behaviour, such as conspicuous displays of wealth through consumption (Arndt et al., 2004; Maheswaran & Agrawal, 2004; Rindfleisch & Burroughs, 2004).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Arndt et al., 2004 source
    • cites Maheswaran & Agrawal, 2004 source
    • cites Rindfleisch & Burroughs, 2004 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Religion functions to manage death-related fear.

    “Religion has been argued to function to manage death-related fear (Kirkpatrick & Navarrete, 2006).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Kirkpatrick & Navarrete, 2006 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    TMT suggests that online provision of information reminding individuals about mortality would engender greater death anxiety.

    “In general, TMT suggests that online provision of information that would remind individuals about mortality (mortality salience) would engender greater death anxiety.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Premisecitation

    This requires people to establish themselves as valuable participants in a meaningful universe.

    “This requires people to establish themselves as valuable participants in a meaningful universe (Pyszczynski et al., 2015).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Pyszczynski et al., 2015 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Self-esteem is a general anxiety buffer, and elevating it reduces anxiety related to thoughts of death.

    “Self-esteem is a general anxiety buffer and elevating self-esteem reduces anxiety related to thoughts of death (Pyszczynski et al., 2015).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Pyszczynski et al., 2015 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Wang et al. suggests online provision of cancer information provides a potential buffer to death fear through hope.

    “A recent study by Wang et al. (2019) suggests that online provision of cancer information provides a potential buffer to death fear, through the provision of hope.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Wang et al., 2019 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Religion can be divisive, with mortality salience leading to more positive in-group views and negative out-group views.

    “However, religion can also be divisive, with mortality salience leading to more positive views of in-group members (own religion) and negative views of out-group members (other religions) (Greenberg et al., 1990).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Greenberg et al., 1990 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The study used BIC and AIC to choose among models.

    “In this study, we used the BIC and AIC to choose among models, which is standard practice.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The research window of five months does not capture the whole of the pandemic period.

    “the research window of five months does not capture the whole of the pandemic period, and future research could extend the research window.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductreasoning

    There is a random element in the creation of stochastic, probabilistic models, so fitting the models on different occasions may result in varying results.

    “as we might expect for stochastic, probabilistic models of this kind, there is a random element in the creation of models. Thus, fitting the models on different occasions may result in varying results.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The results support hypotheses H2, H3, and H5, but not H4 or H6.

    “The results offer support for hypotheses H2, H3 and H5, but not for H4 or H6.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Death anxiety peaks during the height of the pandemic, as online users are reminded of their own mortality (support of H1).

    “The research found that death anxiety does indeed peak during the height of the pandemic, as online users are reminded of their own mortality (support of H1).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.
    • Rests on an assumption: The number of new COVID-19 cases is a valid measure of the height of the pandemic.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationown data

    Social connection to families and friends is important during the pandemic.

    “since social connection to families and friends is so important during the pandemic, this social connection must be maintained to ensure individual wellbeing.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    Some tweets that the authors wished to analyze were not attributed to the UK domain in the public data or not available for download retrospectively, limiting the current data set.

    “some of the tweets we wished to analyze were not attributed to the UK domain in the public data or not available for download retrospectively, limiting the current data set.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    The research focuses on English language responses on Twitter in the UK.

    “the research focuses on English language responses on Twitter in the UK.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
50 of 50

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The UK Twitter users whose tweets were analyzed are representative of online users in the UK for studying terror states during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “This study focuses on existing public data from Twitter users in the UK.”
    “The research identifies four online ‘terror’ states, with high death and anxiety mentions during the peak of the pandemic.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    LIWC dictionary scores for anxiety and death validly measure the psychological constructs of death anxiety and terror states.

    “We applied the dictionaries for Anxiety, Death, Religion, Reward, Affiliation and Social. This resulted in scores for each tweet, according to word dictionary.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The latent states estimated by the Hidden Markov Model correspond to psychological terror states.

    “advanced machine learning to detect terror states via Hidden Markov Models.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Online Twitter mentions of anxiety and death validly reflect users' terror states.

    “The levels of anxiety and death extracted from the tweets differ significantly between the four terror states”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The number of new COVID-19 cases is a valid measure of the height of the pandemic.

    “the height of the pandemic, shown by the number of new cases diagnosed in Fig. 3”
5 of 5

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Equal AIC values conflict with unequal BIC values

    Major

    The Social and Religion models each add one transition covariate to the same four-state model. With the same parameter count and observations, equal AIC values require equal BIC values, yet their reported BIC values differ by 62.2.

  • Achievement is assigned to the opposite immortality category

    Minor

    The theory section places achievement and a lasting contribution under symbolic immortality. The discussion instead links achievement and a lasting presence to literal mortality.

2 of 2

Cites

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7 of the 68 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

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Related

Authors
Barnes, S. J.
Affiliations
King's College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Barnes, Stuart J.
ORCID
Barnes, Stuart J.
Venue
Computers in Human Behavior
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-12
Volume
125
Pages
106967
ISSN
0747-5632 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.chb.2021.106967
PMC
PMC8867060
OpenAlex
W3185846577
Semantic Scholar
d1c512da8ccf2a17aaad907fe7f5d637e53c7982
Cited by
23
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3
FWCI
4.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Computers in Human Behavior (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
Keywords
terror management theory, fear of death, COVID-19 pandemic, defense mechanisms, online relationships, achievement, anxiety

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-09-28.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-09-28.

Cited sources are checked by gpt-6-sol.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

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