Inconclusive Findings in Studies of the Link Between Media Coverage of Mass Trauma and Depression in Children

This paper reports a review of the empirical research examining the association between mass trauma media contact and depression in children, the factors that may influence the association, and the difficulties encountered in the study of media effects on depression.

All of the included studies assessed general population samples. Pre-COVID-19 research focused primarily on television coverage alone or on multiple media forms including television, while COVID-19 media studies examined various media forms including social media. Most studies used cross-sectional design and non-probability sampling. The review revealed inconclusive findings across studies. The study of mass trauma media effects on depression in children is complicated by a number of potential confounding factors and by the relatively high prevalence of depression in the general population. Media contact was a relatively minor consideration among other interests in the extant studies which failed to explore numerous issues that warrant attention in future research.