The role of mental well-being in health communication about COVID-19: An interview study among students with varying levels of depression
Creators: name: Wang, Yajing
name: Meppelink, Corine
name: Van Weert, Julia
name: Scholz, Christin
name: Van Den Putte, Bas
name: Dolinsek, Spela
Publisher: name: OSF Registries
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Immunology and Infectious Disease
subject: Communication
subject: Immunology of Infectious Disease
subject: Public Health Education and Promotion
subject: Health Psychology
subject: Graphic Communications
subject: Psychiatric and Mental Health
subject: Public Health
subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
subject: Life Sciences
subject: Social Media
subject: Epidemiology
subject: Health Communication
subject: Mental and Social Health
subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences
subject: Public Relations and Advertising
subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology

description: Health messages are not routinely checked for their potential impact on mental well-being. Nevertheless, research suggests that exposure to specific types of messages may have a negative impact on mental well-being of the recipients (Dolinšek et al., 2023). During the COVID-19 pandemic, a global decline in mental well-being was observed (O’Connor et al., 2021; Paredes et al., 2021). This can be partially attributed to the extent of exposure to pandemic information, as well as to specific types of messages, such as those using negative emotional appeals (Trnka &amp; Lorencova, 2020). Individuals with symptoms of depression might be particularly vulnerable to these negative effects, due to their tendency to selectively process information, focusing on the negative and minimizing the importance of positive information (Clark et al., 1999; Siegel et al., 2017). Indeed, a recent scoping review suggests that those with higher levels of depressive symptoms process specific health messages differently than those with minimal levels. For instance, they might focus on different elements of the messages and develop higher reactance toward them (Dolinšek et al., 2023). As a result of the impact of message exposure on mental well-being, effectiveness of health messages may be reduced as recipients engage in information avoidance, defensive processing, and even maladaptive responses to regulate their emotions, as was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ytre-Arne &amp; Moe, 2021). So far, effects of health messaging on mental well-being and the role of pre-existing depressive symptoms in message processing have not been the focus in health communication in general. Most existing studies focus on patient populations and messages about their specific mental health issue, but not on persuasive messages about other general health issues, such as preventative behaviours during pandemics. Additionally, mental well-being is a complex multi-dimensional concept (consisting of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being), which is mostly neglected as studies focus on single specific indicators (e.g., feeling sad). Moreover, focus primarily lies on negative appeals and negative emotions, leaving positive mental well-being outcomes largely unexplored. Lastly, while we know that distressing message recipients can (under some circumstances) be beneficial for reaching persuasive goals (like for instance in the case of fear appeals), the link between mental well-being effects and subsequent effectiveness of messages has not yet been explored substantially. Accordingly, this interview study aims to explore the relationship between exposure to health messages about Covid-19 and adherence with recommended behaviour, as well as mental well-being outcomes for those with normal and higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Social networking sites (SNSs) played a crucial role in information dissemination during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing new communication opportunities for official sources, such as governments and health organizations (Tsao et al., 2021). SNSs also provided users with coping opportunities (Yang et al., 2020). For instance, passive SNS use - such as browsing content - increased loneliness and decreased life satisfaction, while active use - like reacting to posts and sharing positive information about COVID-19 decreased levels of loneliness (Pennington, 2021) and was associated with lower levels of depression (Yang et al., 2020). However, studies relating SNS use and mental well-being are mostly correlational and predominantly focus on time spent using SNSs, rather than on particular actions, like liking or sharing specific content, such as for instance official health messages. Therefore, the aim of this interview study is additionally to explore how and why students use SNS in response to exposure to official health messages. Accordingly, we have formulated the following research questions: RQ1: How do students perceive the impact of official health messages about Covid-19 on their adherence with recommended behaviour (a) and mental well-being (b). RQ2: How did students use SNS (social networking sites) in response to exposure to official health messages about Covid-19? RQ3: How do students with normal and higher levels of depressive symptoms perceive the impact of official health messages with different message characteristics on their adherence with recommended behaviour (a) and mental well-being (b)? This study will contribute to the field of health communication by providing further insights into most effective and least harmful communication techniques for those with varying depressive symptomatology, to prevent further harming an already vulnerable population.