Information seeking, mental health and loneliness: Longitudinal analyses of adults in the UK COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing study

Wilding, Sarah; O'Connor, Daryl B.; Ferguson, Eamonn; Wetherall, Karen; Cleare, Seonaid; O'Carroll, Ronan E.; Robb, Kathryn A.; O'Connor, Rory C.

Abstract

Information seeking has generally been seen as an adaptive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it may also result in negative outcomes on mental health. The present study tests whether reporting COVID-related information seeking throughout the pandemic is associated with subsequently poorer mental health outcomes. A quota-based, non-probability-sampling methodology was used to recruit a nationally representative sample. COVID-related information seeking was assessed at six waves along with symptoms of depression, anxiety, mental wellbeing and loneliness (N = 1945). Hierarchical linear modelling was used to assess the relationship between COVID-related information seeking and mental health outcomes. Information seeking was found to reduce over time. Overall, women, older and higher socioeconomic group individuals reported higher levels of information seeking. At waves 1-4 (March-June 2020) the majority of participants reported that they sought information on Covid 1-5 times per day, this decreased to less than once per day in waves 5 and 6 (July-November 2020). Higher levels of information seeking were associated with poorer mental health outcomes, particularly clinically significant levels of anxiety. Use of a non-probability sampling method may have been a study limitation, nevertheless, reducing or managing information seeking behaviour may be one method to reduce anxiety during pandemics and other public health crises.

Citation

Wilding, S., O'Connor, D. B., Ferguson, E., Wetherall, K., Cleare, S., O'Carroll, R. E., Robb, K. A., & O'Connor, R. C. (2022). Information seeking, mental health and loneliness: Longitudinal analyses of adults in the UK COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing study. Psychiatry Research, 317, Article 114876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114876

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 30, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Oct 7, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Oct 19, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 8, 2023
• Journal: Psychiatry Research
• Print ISSN: 0165-1781
• Electronic ISSN: 1872-7123
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 317
• Article Number: 114876
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114876
• Keywords: Biological Psychiatry; Psychiatry and Mental health
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/12597748