The impact of sociopolitical stressors presented through the media on mental health

This dissertation examines the psychological mechanisms through which sociopolitical stressors presented via the media influence mental health. It is based on the assumption that contemporary global threats-such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the spread of misinformation, and geopolitical instability-affect individuals' psychological functioning not only through direct experience, but increasingly through their media representations. Media thus become a significant secondary stressor that can intensify feelings of uncertainty, threat, and loss of control, and contribute to the development of anxiety, depressive, and posttraumatic symptoms. The dissertation integrates theoretical frameworks with empirical data from three population-representative studies conducted in the Czech Republic. The empirical part focuses on the relationship between media use and mental health during a prolonged pandemic lockdown (Study 1), on the links between belief in misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine (Study 2), and on risk and protective factors of media-transmitted traumatization in the context of the war in Ukraine (Study 3). The findings indicate that the way media are consumed is more important for mental health than the mere level of media exposure. Based...