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Social media exposure during COVID-19 lockdowns could lead to emotional overeating via anxiety: The moderating role of neuroticism.

ABSTRACT: China was a major hotspot during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies have reported changes in residents' eating behaviors and appetite during city wide lockdowns and home confinements. However, few have investigated how neuroticism interacts with the impact of COVID-19 to influence eating behaviors during city lockdowns. Thus, the current study aims to establish a pathway model to understand social media exposure, negative affect, neuroticism, and their interaction with eating behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdowns. We present data from 1,128 participants (Mage = 24.34 ± 10.48 years) who completed an online survey between February 17 and 27, 2020. The extent of respondents' social media exposure, negative affect, eating behaviors, and desire for high-calorie food during city lockdowns, as well as the personality trait of neuroticism, were measured. Results show that city lockdowns and home confinements had a negative impact on residents' eating behaviors and appetite. Forty-eight percent of respondents showed moderate to constant emotional overeating, and respondents' desire for high-calorie food significantly increased. Correlation analysis showed that emotional overeating is positively associated with social media exposure, neuroticism, and anxiety. Then, a moderated mediation model was established, showing that heavy social media exposure could lead to emotional overeating through anxiety, and the association between social media exposure and anxiety varies depending on the extent of neuroticism. The current study provides novel insight into how the interaction of a personality trait and the stressful situation of COVID-19 influence people's negative emotions and eating behaviors.

SUBMITTER: Gao Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8444795 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:AimThe research aimed to study the effect of using WeChat (a mobile social media application) on pregastroscopy anxiety and the cooperation of patients with different coping styles.MethodsIn order to decrease patients' pregastroscopy anxiety and improve the tolerance of unsedated gastroscopy, WeChat, a widely used mobile social media application, was applied to provide information prior to their endoscopic procedure. Two hundred and thirty patients who underwent initial unsedated gastroscopy in a large teaching hospital in China were classified into two groups based on their coping style: information seekers or information avoiders, using the Information Subscale of the Krantz Health Opinion Survey (KHOS-I). Each of the two groups was prospectively randomly assigned to either receiving the brochure information or conjunctive interactive WeChat-delivered information of gastroscopy. To measure the level of state anxiety, the State Anxiety Scale of Spielberg's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire was used. State anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate were measured at enrollment, upon arrival, and before gastroscopy.ResultsInformation seekers and avoiders who received information from the brochure and the WeChat platform experienced significantly less state anxiety upon arrival and before gastroscopy. Furthermore, information seekers who received information from the conjunctive WeChat platform had lower frequency of retching, lower scores of nausea and bloating, and better tolerance. Information avoiders who received information from the conjunctive WeChat platform had lower frequency of retching, lower scores of discomfort while swallowing the scope and nausea, and better tolerance. However, we found the percentage of information seekers who preferred no WeChat-delivered pregastroscopy information is greater than WeChat-delivered information at the initial questionnaire. No significant difference was found in blood pressure or heart rate upon arrival and before gastroscopy.ConclusionsAlthough people preferred no WeChat-delivered pregastroscopy information, the provision of gastroscopy information through a mobile social media application, such as WeChat, could significantly reduce patients' pregastroscopy anxiety, lower the frequency of retching, reduce the scores of nausea and bloating, and improve tolerance for information seekers. In addition, it could lower the frequency of retching, reduce the scores of discomfort while swallowing the scope and its concurrent nausea, and improve tolerance for information avoiders.

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Social media exposure during COVID-19 lockdowns could lead to emotional overeating via anxiety: The moderating role of neuroticism.

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