The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States
Open accessAbstract
As the COVID pandemic unfolded, acute stress and depressive symptoms increased alongside deaths in a U.S. probability-based sample.
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Detrimental psychological effects of excessive pandemic-related media exposure include heightened levels of anxiety, depression, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress symptoms, schizotypal traits, and substance use.
“These effects include heightened levels of anxiety [64], depression [64,65], psychological distress [66,67], posttraumatic stress symptoms [68], schizotypal traits [69], and substance use [70].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [65]
The Results report that greater COVID-19-related media exposure was associated with higher acute stress and depressive symptoms; the Discussion also links pandemic media coverage to anxiety and distress. The paper does not establish posttraumatic stress symptoms, schizotypal traits, or substance use as outcomes of that exposure, and its findings are associations rather than demonstrated causal effects. The printed sentence places separate citations beside several of those outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSelf-report measures are susceptible to recall bias and social desirability effects, as individuals may overestimate or underestimate their media intake and emotional impact.
“Furthermore, self-report measures are susceptible to recall bias and social desirability effects, as individuals may overestimate or underestimate their media intake and emotional impact [65].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [65]
Materials and Methods > Measures (page unavailable) says participants reported their media use and stress symptoms, but does not assess whether those reports were inaccurate. The Discussion (page unavailable) mentions recall bias only to explain why prepandemic health data collected before the pandemic avoided it. Searches for recall bias, social desirability, and over- or underestimation found no passage addressing the claimed biases in reported media intake or emotional impact. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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References 40 · Cited by 285
- Authors
- Holman, E. A., Thompson, R. R., Garfin, D. R., & Silver, R. C.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Holman, E. Alison
- Silver, Roxane Cohen
- Venue
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2020-10-16
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 42
- ISSN
- 2375-2548 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7556755
- OpenAlex
- W3087236504
- Cited by
- 285
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 91 · 2021: 92 · 2020: 6
- FWCI
- 22.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Science Advances (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (SES 2026337)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, acute stress, depressive symptoms, COVID-19 mortality, media exposure, conflicting health information, pre-existing conditions, secondary stressors, risk communication, community resilience, United States
- MeSH terms
- Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stress, Psychological, United States, Cohort Studies, Least-Squares Analysis, Coronavirus Infections, Young Adult, Pandemics
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