Background: Lockdown measures because of COVID-19 are likely to result in deteriorating physical and mental health. In this study, our aim was to assess the impact of media exposure on increases in substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A nationally representative online survey of 1264 adults was collected during the pandemic in the United States. Logistic regression was used to explore the association between an increase in substance use since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to cable news or social media together with COVID-19 knowledge, while controlling for covariates. Results: In the multivariable-adjusted models, participants with the highest exposure to social media (at least daily) and low knowledge of COVID-19 were 9.9 times more likely to experience an increase in substance use since the pandemic began (OR = 9.90, 95% CI = 4.27–23.06). Participants with the highest exposure to cable news and low knowledge of COVID-19 were over 11 times more likely to experience an increase in substance use (OR = 11.64, 95% CI = 4.01–24.45). Conclusion: Based on our findings, we recommend that media organizations should aim to reduce uncertainty and also provide positive coverage to counter the negative information associated with pandemics.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 期间媒体接触和物质使用增加

背景：因 COVID-19 而采取的封锁措施可能会导致身心健康恶化。在这项研究中，我们的目的是评估媒体曝光对 COVID-19 大流行期间物质使用增加的影响。方法：在美国大流行期间收集了具有全国代表性的 1264 名成年人的在线调查。逻辑回归用于探索自 COVID-19 大流行开始以来物质使用增加与接触有线新闻或社交媒体以及 COVID-19 知识之间的关联，同时控制协变量。结果：在多变量调整模型中，社交媒体接触率最高（至少每天一次）且对 COVID-19 了解程度较低的参与者为 9。自大流行开始以来，物质使用增加的可能性增加了 9 倍（OR = 9.90，95% CI = 4.27–23.06）。有线电视新闻曝光率最高且对 COVID-19 了解程度低的参与者发生物质使用增加的可能性是其 11 倍以上（OR = 11.64，95% CI = 4.01–24.45）。结论：根据我们的调查结果，我们建议媒体机构应致力于减少不确定性，并提供正面报道以应对与流行病相关的负面信息。