The relationship of life satisfaction, worries, and media use: a population-based cross-sectional study in Germany

Socio-political challenges, climate crisis, wars and pandemics can significantly impact civilian mental health, leading to psychological impairments and decreased life satisfaction. We aimed to investigate the psychological factors and sources of information used by the German population after the COVID-19 pandemic, during a period marked by several ongoing crises.

Overall, N = 1,008 individuals (51.2% female) aged 14 to 99 years (mean age 49.71 years) in Germany participated in the present population-based cross-sectional study. Two components of mental health were assessed using computer-assisted telephone interviewing: life satisfaction as a positive component and worries as a negative component. Additionally, bivariate and multivariate associations of media usage and these two variables were examined.

The majority of this representative sample (74.9%) reported experiencing life satisfaction often or very often, even though half of the sample (50.3%) also experienced frequent worries. Significant effects on life satisfaction were observed in relation to gender, education, and source of information: higher life satisfaction was reported by females, individuals with more years of education, and those who primarily relied on print media or radio for information. Furthermore, the results revealed significant associations between worries and regional factors as well as media usage: higher levels of worry were reported by individuals living in the states formerly considered East Germany, and by those who primarily used social media as their main source of information.

This study provides first insights into life satisfaction and worries of the German population during ongoing crises one year after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings highlight the role of gender, education, region, and especially media usage in shaping the positive and negative aspects of mental health and underline the need for enhanced media literacy and targeted psychological interventions for vulnerable groups.