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Willingness to Help Following the Sichuan Earthquake: Modeling the

Effects of Media Involvement, Stress, Trust, and Relational Resources
Mihye Seo, Shaojing Sun, Andy J. Merolla and Shuangyue Zhang
Communication Research 2012 39: 3 originally published online 6 January 2011
DOI: 10.1177/0093650210388407
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Willingness to Help
Following the Sichuan
Earthquake:Modeling
the Effects of Media
Involvement, Stress,Trust,
and Relational Resources

Communication Research
39(1) 325
The Author(s) 2012
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0093650210388407
http://crx.sagepub.com

Mihye Seo1, Shaojing Sun2, Andy J. Merolla3,

and Shuangyue Zhang4

Abstract
Examining individuals TV and Internet involvement following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake,
this study demonstrates that involvement with disaster media renders positive and negative
effects on viewers. Although TV involvement increases perceived stress, TV and Internet
involvement predict perceived gains of social-relational resources (e.g., companionship
and intimacy with friends and family) and social trust. Media involvement, in general, is also
positively related to individuals willingness to help people in the affected areas, though this
link was mediated by individuals perceived social-relational resource gain and social trust.
This suggests that individuals willingness to help disaster victims is partly shaped by their
relatively proximal and personal responses to the disaster coverage.
Keywords
media effects, China, natural disaster coverage, trust, personal relationships, altruistic communities, terror management, resource gain
Experiencing natural or human disasters can deeply affect peoples lives. Disaster victims
can endure acute and chronic mental problems, such as depression and posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD; Fullerton & Ursano, 1997; Weissman, Kushner, Marcus, & Davis, 2003).
1

University at Albany, State University of New York

Fudan University, Shanghai, China
3
Colorado State University
4
Sam Houston State University
2

Corresponding Author:
Mihye Seo, 331 Social Science Building, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12222
Email: mseo@albany.edu

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Communication Research 39(1)

Yet in the aftermath of large-scale disasters, even people who are not directly involved in
the disaster can share in the traumatic experience via media coverage. Once a major disaster
strikes, media interrupt regular programming and start broadcasting disaster marathons
(Liebes, 1998, p. 71). Television and online media sources transmit images and stories of
disasters, highlighting victims emotional reactions of shock and despair (Blondheim &
Liebes, 2002; Walters, Wilkins, & Walters, 1989). Audiences exposed to images of vulnerable and suffering others can, as a consequence, evidence negative emotional and behavioral reactions to the traumatic events (Cardenas, Williams, Wilson, Fanouraki, & Singh,
2003; Hoffner & Haefner, 1993; Snyder & Park, 2002).
Media coverage of disasters, however, involves not just stories of sorrow and misfortune but also stories of survivorship and courage (Walters et al., 1989; Worawongs, Wang,
& Sims, 2007). Media, moreover, can facilitate positive behaviors by audience members.
Media coverage can promote rescue and recovery efforts by soliciting charitable actions
from audience members. Media can also increase public awareness and provide guidelines
for how people can assist in their local communities (Brown & Minty, 2006; Oosterhof,
Heuvelman, & Peters, 2009). More broadly, media has the capacity to enhance public discourses of compassion, which can potentially influence individuals willingness to help others affected by the disaster (Kim, Ball-Rokeach, Cohen, & Jung, 2002).
It appears, then, that media involvement in the aftermath of disasters can have both negative and positive consequences for audiences. Despite the plausibility of positive media
effects, empirical tests of positive effects following disasters have been relatively rare. The
present study, therefore, examines both positive and negative consequences of media involvement following a large-scale natural disaster, namely, the May 2008 earthquake that struck
Chinas Sichuan province. This study tests how audience members media involvement in
the weeks following the May 12, 2008, earthquake predicts stress, social trust, perceptions
of personal relationships (i.e., social-relational resource gain), and willingness to help
others. We propose that individuals willingness to help victims is mediated by their perceived stress, social trust, and perceptions of their own personal relationships. In addition
to media involvement research, we frame our hypotheses using multiple theoretical perspectives, including terror management theory (Greenberg, Solomon, & Pyszczynski, 1997) and
conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1988).

Literature Review and Rationale

The Sichuan earthquake of 2008, which was of a 7.9 magnitude, was immensely destructive. The earthquake reportedly killed approximately 70,000 people, injured 300,000 others,
and left millions more without homes; economic losses were estimated to exceed 1 billion
dollars (Baidu Encyclopedia, 2010; New York Times, 2009). Different from other crises
affecting China, such as the SARS epidemic or the Tonghai Earthquake of 1970, the media
coverage of the Sichuan earthquake was nearly instantaneous, making the earthquake an
immediate national crisis for China (Yang, 2009). Thus, in close temporal proximity to the
disaster, audiences throughout China (and much of the world, for that matter) could share
in the traumatic moments captured by the media. Against this backdrop, it seems appropriate

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Seo et al.

to examine the potential positive and negative consequences of not just mere media exposure to the earthquake, which was likely ubiquitous, but the degree of audience members
media involvement.
Research examining media use and disasters mostly focuses on media as a main information channel. Studies report that crisis coverage affects peoples perception and awareness of the crisis (Ball-Rokeach & Defleur, 1976; Boyles et al., 2004; Lowrey, 2004). Because
threatening events, such as natural disasters, raise uncertainty, people turn to media to make
sense of the situation and overcome ambiguity (Greenberg, Hofschire, & Lachlan, 2002;
Mileti & Darlington, 1997). Media following crises also serve important functions for the
provision of information to viewers. For this reason, scholars have taken a risk management approach in their work. This line of research examines the dissemination of vital information to the public to limit potential panic or hazards (Mileti & Beck, 1975; Reynolds &
Seeger, 2005). Media messages can inform the public about necessary actions needed to
reduce harm with the goal of increasing audience efficacy (Reynolds & Seeger, 2005).
Researchers have also taken great interest in examining potential negative psychological and behavioral consequences stemming from individuals exposure to disasters and war.
Studies demonstrate that mediated experience of traumatic events can invoke negative emotional reactions, such as anger, grief, and loss (Boyle et al., 2004; Cantor, Wilson, & Hoffner,
1986; Popper, Stickgold, Keeley, & Christman, 2007; Riffe & Stovall, 1989). A study examining the period following the Oklahoma City bombing, for example, found that residents
of the affected areas showed high levels of stress and PTSD symptoms (Smith, Christiansen,
Vincent, & Hann, 1999). More recently, Lau and his colleagues found that coverage of the
2004 tsunami was related to distress among the residents of Hong Kong (Lau, Lau, Kim, &
Tsui, 2006). Focusing on the days immediately following the September 11 attacks, Schuster
et al. (2001) reported that close to half of their nationally representative sample experienced
what the authors termed substantial stress symptoms; some 90% of the sample reported at
least a small amount of one stress symptom.
Despite the available evidence suggesting that media coverage of disasters is potentially
consequential to viewer perception and well-being, media scholars have argued that focusing on mere media exposure alone is inadequate to capture these effects. Scholars working
from a uses and gratifications perspective, in particular, contend that researchers should
evaluate audience members media involvement, which estimates how actively viewers engage
in media coverage (Levy & Windahl, 1985; Perse & Rubin, 1989). According to Levy and
Windahl, media involvement represents the degree to which the individual interacts psychologically with a medium or its messages (p. 112). Perse and Rubin conceptualized media
involvement as cognitive, affective, and behavioral participation during and because of
exposure (p. 247).
Generally speaking, a media involvement approach emphasizes that the locus of involvement is within the individual rather than within messages or stimuli (Sun, Rubin, & Haridakis,
2008, p. 410). Supporting the utility of this approach, much research documents how cognitive and emotional media involvement influences individuals reaction to media messages
(e.g., Lorch, 1994; Perse, 1990). Higher levels of cognitive and emotional involvement with
various types of media equates to higher levels of interest and salience among audience

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Communication Research 39(1)

members (Chaffee & Roser, 1986; Putrevu & Lord, 1994). Chaffee and Roser, for instance,
found stronger correlations between knowledge, attitude, and behaviors when audience members exhibited higher levels of cognitive involvement with a health intervention. Further
indicating the importance of audience activity, Rubin (1993) argued that greater audience
involvement leads to more instrumental or utilitarian media use by audience members.
Examining media coverage following the September 11 attacks, Step, Finucane, and
Horvath (2002) tested the relationship between emotional involvement and psychological
and behavioral consequences. Step et al. found that people reported a need for interpersonal
connection as a consequence of their emotional media involvement. Based on the importance of media involvement as a precursor of media effects, as well as past research demonstrating an association between media exposure and perceived stress, we propose the
following hypothesis.
Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between individuals media involvement
with earthquake coverage and their perceived stress.
Although the majority of research on media coverage of disasters has considered negative effects on audience members, a few studies have examined positive consequences.
Indicative of the potential positive consequences of disaster media involvement, studies have
reported that people perceive, and actually experience, increased social support following
major disasters. Lau, Yang, Tsu, Pang, and Wing (2006) found that people in Hong Kong
reported higher levels of social and family support after the SARS epidemic. Compared
with the pre-SARS period, respondents reported that they shared feelings more frequently
and felt greater care for family members feelings. Lau et al. speculated that the improved
relational experiences many individuals reported following the SARS scare reflect the ways
in which the media covered the event, as the media frequently depicted a more coherent
and harmonious atmosphere in Hong Kong (p. 121).
To help explain why individuals can perceive increased social and relational resources
following tragic events and periods of loss, one can turn to the conservation of resources
(COR) theory, which provides a theoretical explanation for resource loss and gain following stressful events (Hobfoll, 1988; Hobfoll & Lerman, 1989). According to COR theory,
traumatic events are stressful because they threaten the loss of valuable resources, which
can be tangible or intangible in nature (e.g., shelter, self-esteem, love; Hobfoll & Lilly, 1993).
COR theory posits that during stressful circumstances, such as natural disasters, people also
could perceive resource gains. Resource gains are needed to offset resource loss. Some
scholars have referred to such gains in the face of stress as traumatic growth, though the
nature and effects of traumatic growth remain rather unclear (see Hobfoll, Tracy, & Galea,
2006). People, in general, strive to protect and gain available resources in order to bolster
resilience and facilitate coping responses (Sumer, Karanci, Berument, & Gunes, 2005). As
Hobfoll (1998) stated, People enact gain cycles in the wake of loss, in part to offset current resource loss, but also because they become more aware of future losses and look to
prevent them (p. 69). In sum, COR posits that during stressful periods, it is possible for
individuals to experience both loss and gain of resources simultaneously.

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Seo et al.

Terror management theory (TMT) provides an additional theoretical explanation for

why individuals turn to their close relationship partners following media involvement with
natural disaster coverage. According to TMT, when people are exposed to events that heighten
the salience of their mortality, it can activate a self-preservation motivation (Greenberg,
Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986; Greenberg et al., 1997). People often react to this enhanced
self-preservation motivation by showing higher compliance with cultural values and enhan
ced in-group favoritism (Navarrete, Kurzban, Fessler, & Kirkpatrick, 2004). Adherence to
such norms and values comforts people in part by addressing social support and attachment
needs (Hart, Shaver, & Goldenberg, 2003; Navarrete et al., 2004). In their expansion of
TMT, Mikulincer, Florian, and Hirschberger (2003) described the dual role that close relationships serve in reducing mortality salience. First, relational partners help to reduce individuals anxiety and facilitate their positive emotion. Second, significant others enhance
individuals sense of symbolic immortality (p. 25), such that they can help individuals
feel that their social identity will continue beyond their death. Mikulincer et al. contended
that though both short- and long-term ties can be beneficial, it is long-term relationships that
are often best able to provide a sense of continuity and lastingness and can be used as
symbolic shields against existential threats (p. 25). Thus, following disasters, even those
indirectly experienced, peoples fundamental needs for self-preservation become salient,
which likely heightens the import placed on the physical and symbolic resources provided
by personal relationships.
Taken together, COR and TMT suggest why experiencing traumatic events could motivate people to place greater value on their social and relational resources, such as intimacy
with a romantic partner, support from family members, and companionship with friends.
Considering the content of disaster coverage, it seems plausible that media reports prime
individuals mortality salience. This would be especially true when audiences are highly
involved in media coverage. This speculation provides the basis for our second hypothesis.
Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between individuals media involvement with earthquake coverage and their perceived gain in social and relational
resources.
We are also interested in exploring if positive consequences of media involvement
extend beyond individuals perception of their personal relationships, to their perceptions
of generalized others. We, therefore, investigate whether media involvement relates to social
trust and willingness to help victims of the disaster.
Although he questioned the lastingness of the increased social capital witnessed after
national crises, Putnam (2002) noted that the experience of September 11 reshaped Americans
attitudes toward each other and their shared fate, at least temporarily (p. 20). Researchers
studying public responses to disasters have often observed increased helping behavior in
affected areas (Barton, 1969; Giel, 1990). The increased helping culminates in what are
sometimes referred to as altruistic or therapeutic communities, which are characterized
by high levels of communal fellowship, cooperation, altruism and solidarity (Kaniasty &
Norris, 1995, p. 450).

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Communication Research 39(1)

Most research on altruistic communities concerns communities primarily composed of

victims in affected areas. Yet collective actions and solidified attitudes could also be obs
erved in non-victim populations. Following September 11, media highlighted civic-minded
behavior. Media reports indicated, for example, how people engaged in prosocial actions,
such as donating blood and greeting strangers on the streets (McMahon, 2001, cited in
Kim, Ball-Rokeach, Cohen, & Jung, 2002; Schneider & Foot, 2004). Some scholars, such
as Schuster et al. (2001), consider efforts to help others in this manner to be a type of coping response. Specifically analyzing these types of responses following September 11,
Schuster et al. found that 36% of their sample donated blood, contributed financially, or
performed volunteer work.
As discussed earlier, TMT suggests that when mortality becomes salient, people tend to
abide by their own cultural views and enhance in-group favoritism. Feeling like part of a
group is indeed an essential mechanism in the self-preservation drive (Greenberg, et al.,
1986, 1997; Navarrete et al., 2004). It thus seems reasonable to predict a positive relationship between media involvement with earthquake coverage and social trust.
Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between individuals media involvement with earthquake coverage and their degree of social trust.
Researchers have also been interested in identifying factors that motivate people to
take civic actions in crisis situations (Greenberg et al., 2002; Putnam, 2002). Because
medias solidifying function escalates in times of crisis (Dennis et al., 1991; MeLeod,
Eveland, & Signorielli, 1994), media coverage has the potential to rally public opinion toward
common causes. This can increase the publics willingness to engage in prosocial behaviors, such as charity giving and volunteerism. Brown and Minty (2006) found that media
coverage of the 2004 tsunami had a dramatic impact on donations to relief agencies. Kim,
Jung, Cohen, and Ball-Rokeach (2004) found that living in a rich communication environment promoted civic-minded actions after a crisis (for similar results, see Cohen, BallRokeach, Jung, & Kim, 2002; Kim et al., 2002; Step et al., 2002).
The existing literature typically focuses on the potential for direct effects of media use,
exposure, and connectedness on civic actions (e.g., volunteerism and charity donations).
Such direct effects assume that peoples willingness to help following disasters stems from
active solicitation by media representatives. We offer an alternative approach. We propose a
model (see Figure 1) wherein the relationship between media involvement and willingness
to help disaster victims is mediated by individuals more proximal and personal responses to
the disaster, principally perceived social-relational resource gain, stress, and social trust.
In general, willingness to help following disasters is an important but understudied concept (Lowe & Fothergill, 2003). This variable can also be approached from multiple perspectives, so it is important to clarify our conceptualization. Some research done in this
area examines helping behavior under the umbrella term social convergence, which is
defined as the arrival of people to physical geographical sites in the aftermath of disaster
(Hughes, Palen, Sutton, Liu, & Vieweg, 2008). Drawing upon the work of Fritz and Mathewson
(1957) and Kendra and Wachtendorf (2003), Hughes et al. described seven different forms

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Seo et al.

D1

Stress

TV
Involvement

D4

D2

Gain

Internet
Involvement

Help

D3

Trust

Figure 1.Hypothesized model of media involvement

of convergence following crises, of which the categories of helping and supporting are the
most applicable to our study. Although help and support behaviors in the past were performed mainly by other survivors of disasters or people in close proximity to disaster sites,
Hughes et al. noted that media technologies, especially the Internet, are allowing people to
help in diverse ways. Thus, consistent with our conceptualization of willingness to help,
helping behaviors can be enacted from afar, by individuals who experience the disaster via
media coverage.
Several strands of social scientific research coalesce to provide the rationale for our
proposed mediation model. Our general argument is that media involvements effects on
willingness to help are filtered through individuals personal responses (i.e., stress, resource
gain, trust), which activate precursory processes to altruistic action. These key processes
involve the distress/empathy dual-response (Batson, Fultz, & Schoenrade, 1987), the attachment behavioral system (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2001), and social capital (Coleman, 1990;
Putnam, 1995).
First, it stands to reason that if media involvement with disaster coverage heightens
stress, then individuals will be driven to reduce it. If it was the case, though, that distress
was sole emotion promulgated by disaster media, it would be unlikely that we would observe
widespread helping behavior by viewers. Indeed, as Batson and colleagues (Batson, Duncan,
Ackerman, Buckley, & Birch, 1981; Batson et al., 1987) have shown, distress responses
promote an egoistic motivation to avoid the stress-inducing stimuli; this motivation runs
counter to altruistic behavior. However, as Batson et al. (1987) noted, when individuals see
innocent people as victims, which is often the case in natural disaster media coverage, it
seems likely that distress and empathy will be closely intertwined (p. 29). And when empathy is activated, increased altruistic behavior toward victims typically follows. Overall, then,

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Communication Research 39(1)

when disaster media heightens aversive stress responses, those stress responses are likely
mixed with empathic concerns, making helping behaviors likely to occur.
Turning to social-relational resource gain, we believe its mediation of the relationship
between media involvement and willingness to help is best explained in light of research
linking the attachment behavioral system to altruism (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2001). Mikulincer
and Shaver reported on their extensive research program that demonstrates the conditions
under which individuals will act compassionately. A primary finding, which has been replicated in experimental and observational studies, is that individuals are inclined to act
altruistically when their personal sense of attachment to loved ones is primed. For example,
in a study where respondents read vignettes about a victims experience of loss, the respondents who experienced the highest levels of empathy and compassion for the victim were
those whose own attachment needs were salient (Mikulincer et al., 2001). Mikulincer and
Shaver have concluded that the state of the attachment system affects the operation of the
caregiving system (p. 37). Such a conclusion explains why individuals perceptions of
their own social-relational resources should mediate the effects of media involvement on
helping. That is, media involvement with a disaster can lead viewers to contemplate their
own personal relationships, which in addition to making viewers own attachment security
salient, heightens their inclination to help victims.
Finally, to explain why social trust should serve as a mediator, we draw upon the social
capital literature (Coleman, 1990; Putnam, 1995, 1996). Social capital is defined as features of social lifenetworks, norms and trust that facilitate cooperative behaviors (Putnam,
1996, p. 34). As noted earlier, highly involved viewers of disaster media should evidence
increased social trust. This sense of trust is likely linked to individuals more general sense
of social capital, in which case it makes sense that they would be willing to assist disaster
victims.
Indeed, cooperative behaviors are at least partly couched in the norm of reciprocity,
which is closely related to the concepts of social trust and social capital (Coleman, 1990;
Fukuyama, 1995). When viewers observe innocent victims of natural disasters, it reminds
them that misfortune can befall people like themselves. By helping victims, individuals not
only act out their sense of social capital but also affirm that they could one day get the same
help should they need it. Helping disaster victims, however, is not without costs (e.g., time,
money). Yet people should be willing to engage in seemingly costly behaviors following
crises when they recognize that others well-being is not separated from their own. As
Uphoff (2000) argues, peoples behaviors are not solely driven by self-interest or altruism.
Instead, people generally . . . combine the two . . . since self-interest and altruism can
coexist in peoples minds and motivations (p. 230). Thus, when media involvement
heightens social trust (and social capital, more generally), a primary behavioral manifestation of that boost in trust is altruistic helping behavior. Overall, the mediation model
predicts the following:
Hypothesis 4: The relationship between individuals media involvement with earthquake
coverage and their willingness to help others affected by the earthquake is mediated
by their perceived social trust, stress, and gain in social-relational resources.

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Seo et al.

Method
Sample
Data collection began in mid-July 2008 and ended near the end of August 2008, which was
about two months after the Sichuan earthquake occurred. Upon the approval from IRB,
one of the researchers started to recruit students to volunteer for this study. A convenience
sample was adopted because of the time-sensitive nature of the data and budgetary constraints. A total of 550 college students enrolled in a major university in Eastern China
participated in this study, which involved completing a self-administered paper-and-pencil
survey. The participants were awarded a small amount of extra course credit.
About 510 questionnaires were completed and returned. Fifteen respondents reported
knowing someone who died or was injured in the earthquake. Because the purpose of this
study was to examine the influence of media involvement with a natural disaster, whereby
effects of the disaster were indirect, the 15 participants who knew victims of the earthquake
were excluded from the analyses. Questionnaires encompassing a large amount of missing
data were also excluded from analysis. Data plotting also showed some severe outliers on key
variables, and listwise deletion was utilized to remove them. Ultimately, 471 questionnaires
were subjected to final data analysis. Among the sample, 42.4% of the participants reported
that they knew someone from the earthquake-affected area. The average age of the sample
was 21.4 years (SD = 3.03) and 28.3% of the participants were men. The median yearly
household income was 30,000-40,000 RMB, equivalent to about US$4,500-US$6,000.

Measures
A questionnaire was developed first in English and then translated into Chinese by one of
the authors, who is bilingual in English and Chinese, and a native Chinese speaker. Another
one of the authors (who is also bilingual in English and Chinese) closely examined the translations for inaccuracies or inconsistencies. After the two authors negotiated the translations, two individuals unaffiliated with the study and of approximately the same age as the
eventual participants were asked to review the questionnaire. Based on these evaluations,
the authors made final decisions on the translations.
Media involvement. During and after the earthquake, TV and the Internet became the primary channels for information pertaining to the disaster (China Journalism Review,
May 24, 2008; Xinhua News Agency, May 29, 2008). The respondents in the current study
reported that they spent, on average, about 1 hr and 15 min per day watching earthquake
coverage on the TV and about 1 hr per day reading earthquake-related stories online. The
time that our respondents spent watching TV and using the Internet for content related to
the earthquake was much higher than it was for other media, including radio and print
newspaper. Hence, we decided to focus on TV and Internet media involvement.
A modified version of Perses (1998) cognitive involvement scale was used to assess
TV and the Internet involvement. In the original scale, the statements in the measure referred
to the TV news program. For the purpose of this study, Perses measure was adapted to
reflect involvement with earthquake-related stories on TV and the Internet in the 4 weeks

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Table 1. Descriptive Statistics of Perceived Stress Items

Item
Instructions. In the last month, how often did you feel . . .
1.upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?
2.that you were unable to control the important things in your life?
3.nervous and stressed?
4.confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?
5.that things were going your way?
6.that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?
7.able to control irritations in your life?
8.that you were on top of things?
9.angered because of things that were out of your control?
10.difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?

SD

3.21
3.13
2.69
2.81
2.88
2.65
2.87
3.31
2.90
2.62

0.93
0.99
0.92
0.96
0.73
0.78
0.84
0.88
0.93
0.79

Note: Item 4, 5, 7, 8 were reverse coded. Table data reflect the recoding. N = 471.

immediately following the earthquake. Each measure contained 5 items, and responses
were on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). The TV
version of the measure contained statements, such as While I am watching the earthquake-related stories on TV, I think about the messages over and over again, and While
I am watching the earthquake-related stories on TV, I think about the messages and what
should be done. Two composite variables were created by summing the TV (M = 3.65,
SD = .73, = .84) and Internet (M = 3.59, SD = .73, = .83) items.
Perceived stress. Cohen and Williamsons (1988) 10-item index was used to tap the level
of stress that the participants experienced after the earthquake. On a 5-point scale (1 =
never to 5 = very often), participants indicated, for example, how often they felt unable to
control the important things in their life and how often they had been angered because of
things that were outside of their control (see Table 1 for the full measure, as well as the
item means and standard deviations). The 10 stress items were summed, with higher scores
indicating higher stress (M = 2.91, SD = .47). The measure was found to be adequately
reliable ( = .74), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed the 10 items loaded on
one factor satisfactorily: 2(19) = 64.265, GFI = .957, CFI = .896, IFI = .898, SRMR = .040,
RMSEA = .080.
Gain of socialrelational resources. Ten items (see Table 2) that focus on individuals perceptions of their social and personal relationships were selected from Hobfolls (1998) list
of COR resources and the COR-Evaluation (COR-E) measure (Hofoll & Lilly, 1993). The
COR-E can be used to assess both losses and gains, but given our interest in positive media
effects, we focused on perceived gains in this study. On a 3-point scale, respondents rep
orted if they perceived gains in the various social-relational resources after the earthquake
(0 = no increase, 1 = increase a little bit, and 2 = increase a lot). We adopted this 3-point
scale from Hobfoll et al. (2006). Responses to the 10 items were averaged to build a
composite measure for the gain of social-relational resources (M = .56, SD = .53, = .87).

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Seo et al.
Table 2. Descriptive Statistics of Social-Relational Resource Gain Items
Item

SD

Instructions. Below are the resources one needs when living in the world. Please indicate the
magnitude of increase of each resource following the earthquake.
1. Feeling valuable to others
0.63
0.74
0.72
0.77
2.Family stability
3. Intimacy with my family members
0.88
0.79
4. Intimacy with my romantic partner
0.29
0.59
5. Intimacy with at least one friend
0.48
0.67
0.57
0.71
6.Companionship
0.42
0.65
7. Support from roommates
0.51
0.71
8. Affection from others
0.57
0.72
9. Loyalty to others
10. Involvement in organizations with others who share similar interests
0.49
1.21
Note: N = 471.

CFA supported a one-factor solution for the 10 items: 2(34) = 94.596, GFI = .949, CFI = .962,
IFI = .963, SRMR = .025, RMSEA = .069.
Social trust. An index of social trust was built based on three questions. On a 7-point
Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree), participants were asked to
answer how much they agree or disagree with each of the following statements: Generally
speaking, most people can be trusted, Most people are honest, and Most people try to
help each other. These three questions are commonly used to assess social trust and have
been employed in large-scale surveys, including National Election Surveys. The answers
were averaged to build a composite index of social trust (M = 5.09, SD = 1.12, = .81).
Willingness to help others. On a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly
agree), respondents were asked to express how much they agree or disagree with each of
the following two statements: I am willing to donate money to help people in areas where
the earthquake occurred, and I am willing to participate in volunteer work to help people
in areas where earthquake occurred. The answers to two questions were averaged to build
an addictive measure of willingness to help (M = 5.76, SD = 1.17; r = .43, p < .001).

Results
Pearson correlations were conducted to examine the first three hypotheses. As Table 3
shows, hypothesis 1 was partially supported: stress was significantly and positively
related to TV involvement (r = .22, p < .001), but not Internet involvement. Hypothesis 2
was fully supported: social-relational resource gain was significantly and positively rela
ted to TV involvement (r = .30, p < .001) and Internet involvement (r = .29, p < .001).
Hypothesis 3 was also fully supported: Trust was significantly and positively related to
TV involvement (r = .12, p < .001) and Internet involvement (r = .17, p < .001). In light
of Cohens (1988) effect size criterion, correlations of .10, .30, and .50 indicate small,

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Table 3. Correlation Matrix of SEM Variables

Variables

TVinv

NETinv

TVinv
NETinv
Stress
Gain
Trust
Help
M
SD

.68***
.22***
.30***
.12*
.15**
3.65
.73

.08
.29***
.17**
.15**
3.59
.88

Stress

.13*
.05
.01
2.91
.47

Gain

.11*
.26***
.56
.53

Trust

Help

.48***
5.09
1.12

5.76
1.17

Note: TVinv = TV involvement; NETinv = Internet involvement; Stress = perceived stress; Gain = gain of
social-relational resources; Trust = social trust; Help = willingness to help others.
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

medium, and large effects, respectively. Thus, the significant correlations just reported are,
for the most part, small.
Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to examine the fourth hypothesis,
which posited a mediating relationship between media involvement, stress, resource gain,
trust, and willingness to help others. The baseline and hypothesized models illustrate the
proposed relationships among variables (see Figure 1). AMOS version 5.0 was used for
structural modeling analysis with maximum likelihood estimation. As noted earlier, all of
the scales used in the present study are unidimensional. Thus, we decided to parcel items
and model composite scores. Item parceling, particularly under conditions of lengthy ins
truments, is advantageous, as it increases model parsimony and reduces chances of correlated error terms (Little, Cunningham, Shahar, & Widaman, 2002).
Over recent decades, there has been a large body of research and debate on the cutoff
criteria of fit indices for assessing model fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999; Kline, 2005; Loehlin,
1998). The following fit indices are often reported in published research: 2 values, comparative fit index (CFI), the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), the root mean
square error of approximation (RMSEA), the goodness of fit index (GFI), and the incremental index of fit (IFI). Researchers often advise using a combination of fit indices to
evaluate model fit. Because 2 is sensitive to sample size, 2/df is typically recommended,
and the ideal cutoff is 3. Kline (2005) recommended the following cutoff criteria for good
model fit: SRMR < .10, CFI > .90, GFI > .90, IFI > .90, RMSEA < .08. Hu and Bentler
(1999) suggested that a strict rule with SRMR < .08 and RMSEA < .06 would result in a
lower type II error rate of model rejection. In this study, we adopted more rigorous cutoff
criteria of model fit, as demonstrated in Table 4.
Testing for mediation entails comparing a range of nested models. First, with the direct
path from media involvement to willingness to help, the baseline model fit the data well.
Nonetheless, neither TV involvement nor Internet involvement had a statistically significant influence on willingness to help. So, with those two direct paths removed, the second
step tested the hypothesized model, which fit the data satisfactorily. A 2 difference test did

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Seo et al.
Table 4. Structural Model Fit

Baseline model
Hypothesized model
Revised model
Ideal value

df

6.18
7.56
11.24

3
5
8

2/df

SRMR

2.059 0.013
1.512 0.015
1.405 0.017
<3.84 <0.05

GFI

IFI

CFI

RMSEA

0.995
0.994
0.990
>.95

0.993
0.994
0.992
>.95

0.992
0.994
0.992
>.95

0.053
0.037
0.033
<.05

Table 5. Regression Weights of Hypothesized Model

Regression path

SE B

CR

TVinv stress
TVinv gain
TVinv trust
NETinv stress
NETinv gain
NETinv trust
Stress help
Gain help
Trust help
TVinv NETinv

.198
.131
.006
.069
.102
.209
.044
.474
.481
.438

0.044
0.048
0.106
0.036
0.040
0.088
0.110
0.098
0.046
0.040

.309***
.180**
.004
.129
.171*
.166*
.018
.215***
.460***
.681***

4.504
2.699
.956
1.882
2.552
2.384
.399
4.854
10.387
10.880

Note: TVinv = TV involvement; NETinv = Internet involvement; Stress = perceived stress; Gain = gain of
social-relational resources; Trust = social trust; Help = willingness to help others.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

not show a statistically significant difference between the baseline and hypothesized models. Based on Baron and Kennys (1986) conceptualization of mediation, the fourth hypothesis was supported. Table 5 presents parameter estimates of the hypothesized conceptual
model. The most prominent regression path was from trust to help ( = .46, p < .001), followed by TV involvement to stress ( = .31, p < .001) and gain to help ( = .22, p < .001).
By examining parameter estimates and modification indices, the hypothesized model
was revised to increase parsimony (see Figure 2). A chi-square difference test did not show
a statistically significant difference between the two nested models (2 = 3.68, df = 3;
p > .05). Hence, the revised model was favored to the hypothesized model. Table 6 presents
parameter estimates of the revised model. Among the parameters, TV involvement was
strongly associated with Internet involvement. Social trust had a strong positive effect on
willingness to help others ( = .46, p < .001). On the whole, the parameter estimates of the
revised model did not vary greatly from those of the hypothesized one.
To better understand the mediation process, we conducted mediation effect analysis with
M plus 5.0 (Muthen & Muthen, 2007). Magnitudes of indirect effects were assessed and
compared to each other with bootstrapping 5000 times (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Results

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Communication Research 39(1)

D1

Stress

TV
Involvement

D4

D2

Gain

Internet
Involvement

Help

D3

Trust

Figure 2. Revised model of media involvement

Note: D1, D2, D3, and D4 denote disturbance terms.

Table 6. Regression Weights of Revised Model

Regression path
Direct effects
TVinv stress
TVinv gain
NETinv gain
NETinv trust
Gain help
Trust help
TVinv NETinv
Indirect effects
TVinv gain help
NETinv gain help
NETinv trust help

SE B

.142
.131
.102
.213
.469
.482
.438

0.032
0.048
0.040
0.064
0.098
0.046
0.040

.221***
.180**
.171*
.168***
.213***
.461***
.681***

.061
.048
.102

0.025
0.020
0.033

.038*
.036*
.078**

CR

4.379
2.699
2.552
3.306
4.805
10.413
10.880

2.426
2.356
3.105

Note: TVinv = TV involvement; NETinv = Internet involvement; Stress = perceived stress; Gain = gain of
social-relational resources; Trust = social trust; Help = willingness to help others.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

showed all indirect effects were statistically significant (see Table 6). The strongest indirect
effect derives from the path Internet involvement trust help ( = .078, p < .01), followed by the path TV involvement gain help ( = .038, p < .05), and Internet involvement gain help ( = .036, p < .05). Nonetheless, pairwise comparisons did not

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Seo et al.

demonstrate statistically significant differences between the three indirect effects (TV involvement gain help vs. Internet involvement gain help, b = 0.013, SE = 0.036,
CR = 0.370, p > .05; TV involvement gain help vs. Internet involvement trust
help, b = 0.041, SE = 0.042, CR = 0.974, p > .05; Internet involvement gain help vs.
Internet involvement trust help, b = 0.055, SE = 0.038, CR = 1.42, p > .05).

Summary of Results
Taken together, this studys results provide evidence for positive and negative consequences
of media involvement with disaster coverage. In terms of direct positive effects, Internet
involvement was positively related to gain of perceived social-relational resources and
social trust. TV involvement also positively predicted gain of social-relational resources,
but TV involvement was not significantly associated with social trust. In terms of direct
negative effects, people who were actively involved in earthquake stories on TV (but not
on the Internet) perceived greater stress than those who were less involved. Regarding the
proposed mediation model, media involvement demonstrated indirect links with the willingness to help others through gain of social-relational resources (significant for TV and
Internet involvement) and social trust (significant for Internet involvement only).

Discussion
Given the intense media coverage of large-scale natural disasters, it is worthwhile to question the effects such coverage has on individuals. Focusing on individuals media involvement with TV and Internet coverage of the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, the present study
found evidence for both negative and positive effects. Although active processing of the
earthquake stories on TV was directly related to perceived stress, TV and Internet involvement were also directly related to individuals perceived social-relational resource gain and
social trust. TV and Internet involvement, furthermore, were indirectly related to individuals
willingness to help earthquake victims. Mediation tests indicated that social-relational res
ource gain and social trust were significant mediating variables in the link between Internet
involvement and willingness to help. Social-relational-resource gain was the sole significant mediator between TV involvement and willingness to help.
Our results not only support the idea that media involvement with disaster coverage can
have both negative and positive consequences but also raise the possibility that media coverage plays a role in the development of diffuse altruistic communities composed of
actively engaged audience members. When individuals actively process media coverage of
disasters, their inclination to help victims appears to be filtered through their personal res
ponses to the events. This filtering process includes individuals consideration of personal
relationship resources (e.g., intimacy, affection, companionship) and their more global
degree of trust in others. In efforts to explain this mediation model, we invoke literature
pertaining to the attachment behavioral system and social capital. Consider that natural
disaster coverage often reports on calamity befalling innocent victims. As individuals consume such reports, their inclination to assist victims (e.g., in the form donations) could

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Communication Research 39(1)

hinge partially on the degree to which their media involvement enhances the salience of
their own mortality (Mikulincer et al., 2003), attachments to loved ones (Mikulincer &
Shaver, 2001), and/or sense of, trust of, and responsibility to, members of their community
(Putnam, 1995). This proposed mediated pathway offers an alternative to the perspective
that media directly influence individuals altruistic behavior following disasters primarily
through direct solicitation.
Not all of our proposed mediated paths were significant, however. Unlike socialrelational resource gain and social trust, stress was not a significant mediating variable.
Initially, we hypothesized that stress would function as a mediator because, in the context
of disaster media viewership, stress can co-occur with empathy. Helping others would then
serve as a means by which individuals address these emotional responses (Batson et al.,
1987). That stress was not a significant mediating variable might indicate that stress and
empathy did not co-occur, in which case the nonsignificant result would make sense. Indeed,
based on Batson et al.s line of research, when personal distress is the primary response
(and empathy is absent), self-interested behavior directed at avoiding the aversive stimuli
is more likely than altruistic helping behavior. Future studies examining the proposed mediation model should include empathy to test our speculation and better understand the effects
of media involvement on emotional responses and helping behavior.
This studys results concerning stress also highlight the differing media effects found
for TV and Internet involvement. Although both TV and Internet involvement positively
predicted gain of social-relational resources, only TV involvement positively influenced
stress. Moreover, only Internet involvement predicted social trust. The heightened selectivity afforded to users of the Internet, relative to TV, might explain these different effects for
TV and Internet involvement. Internet users can be said to have more control when choosing the media content they consume. When using the Internet, individuals might choose to
avoid stories that could increase their stress level. Concomitantly, the greater interactive
features and diversity of content provided by the Internet, ranging from news sites to blogs
to message boards, might enhance any positive effects of involvement (i.e., social-relational
resource gain and enhanced social trust), as users have greater control over their experiences.
In this way, our results support previous findings regarding positive effects of Internet
use during crises (Cohen et al., 2002; Kim et al., 2002, 2004).
When interpreting the findings for TV and Internet involvement, the unique media system in China should also be taken into consideration. During the first month after the earthquake, across all TV channels, coverage of the earthquake was pervasive and commonly
involved emotionally evocative images and music. The Department of Propaganda, in fact,
ordered all media to focus on covering the earthquake and evoking peoples concern for
victims. Soon after the earthquake occurred, one of the authors of the current study telephone-interviewed a couple of Chinese TV viewers. One interviewee said the following:
I cannot keep watching that kind of sad programming and listening to the sad music
for such a long time. On the TV, only coverage of the earthquake is available to us.
We do not have options in terms of what to watch. The bombarding of such information is making me feel low. I need some fresh air too.

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Seo et al.

Overall, then, the consistent themes and emotional tone characterizing TV coverage,
combined with the Internets affordance of greater selectivity, interactivity, and diversity
of content might help explain why TV, but not Internet, involvement predicted stress, and
why Internet, but not TV, involvement predicted trust. These explanations, of course, are
highly speculative and must be subjected to empirical analysis to determine their veracity.
In particular, future research should probe the specific media attributes that explain why
involvement with the Internet produced somewhat different effects than did involvement
with the more traditional medium of TV.
In the interest of future research, it is also important to recognize the limitations of this
study. Several limitations stem from the nature of the dataset. Perhaps the most significant
limitation is our use of a convenience sample of college students. The drawback of our reliance on a convenience sample of this sort is that it greatly constrains our ability to generalize
the findings. Considering the digital divide that exists in China, any conclusion regarding
Internet involvement also requires extra caution. The cross-sectional nature of the data is a
further limitation, particularly because claims of causality are not possible. In addition,
although we found some support that media involvement influences the willingness to help,
it is unclear whether or not this willingness translates to actual helping behavior.
It is also important to consider how media coverage of disasters shifts over time. Not
surprisingly, coverage of disasters wanes over time, and that was certainly the case for the
Sichuan earthquake.1 What declining media attention means for the strength of effects of
media involvement on outcome variables is not clear. It might make sense, though, to assume
that the effects of media involvement would weaken in a manner that parallels the declining media focus on a crisis. Researchers could cast light on this issue by closely tracking
fluctuations of media coverage, while also capturing audience members responses to the
different rates and forms of coverage.
Different types of disasters and viewers can also be investigated in future research.
Media, for instance, might report disasters that happened in foreign countries differently
from the domestic disasters. Speaking to this, Worawongs et al. (2007) found differences
in the ways in which the U.S. media reported on Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami
in Asia. Understanding how these differences shape viewer perceptions and behaviors is a
viable research direction. We also suggest researchers examine how media involvement
with disaster coverage is influenced by viewers exposure to multiple disasters. In the past
year, several devastating natural disasters have transpired, including earthquakes in Haiti
and Chile, landslides in China, and major flooding in Pakistan. If, and to what degree, exp
osure to multiple disasters affects individuals media involvement and responses to crises
are issues worthy of scrutiny.
Additionally, although TMT and COR theories provided theoretical explanations for
why and how mediated experience of a disaster could be associated with trust and gain in
relational resources, it is important to note that our study did not directly test the fundamental mechanisms of TMT and COR theories. For instance, we did not specifically test whether
or not mortality salience was induced by media involvement with earthquake coverage. We
also did not measure other relevant variables, such as the geographical proximity of participants hometowns to the earthquake site, which could be linked mortality salience. Consider

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Communication Research 39(1)

that individuals whose homes were near the disaster area, relative to those whose homes
were distant, may have been more likely to vicariously experience and empathize with the
plights of the victims.
It is lamentable that large-scale natural disasters around the globe will, often without
warning, continue to take peoples lives and destroy their livelihoods. Media outlets will,
therefore, continue to be confronted with the task of covering these events and their devastation (often in marathon fashion; Blondeim & Liebes, 2002; Liebes, 1998), just as media
audiences will be increasingly able through multiple technologies to experience such tragedies. If we are to take any solace in the sorrow associated with disasters, it might be that
disasters can seemingly provide people the opportunity to reconsider and reevaluate their
personal values, relationships, and trust of others. Whether or not such reevaluation produces long-term benefits for individuals and communities, of course, remains unclear (e.g.,
Hobfoll et al., 2006). Nonetheless, this study, though containing some significant limitations, speaks to the ways in which individuals, through their media involvement, can experience negative and positive consequences following the dire events of a natural disaster.

Note
1. To get a sense for the ways in which Internet and TV coverage of Sichaun earthquake
changed, we can examine prominent media sources. First, we took a look at the well-known
domestic news website, Sina.com, which serves as an important news channel for college
students. When we performed a search for key words, including earthquake, Wenchuan
City, Beichuan City, and Qingchuan City (i.e., cities destroyed by the earthquake), it shows
that published news entries reached 1,830 on May 12, 4,160 on May 13, and 5,020 on May
14. By June 10, stories dropped to 628, and by July 12, stories numbered 121. Second, in
terms of TV, we examined the most prominent channel in China, CCTV. CCTV aired earthquake-related coverage during primetime (7-8 p.m.) almost every day in the first 2 months
after the quake. The period from May 19 to May 21 was designated as a time of national
mourning to commemorate those who died in the earthquake. During that time, all local
TV stations were required to broadcast the earthquake-related programming from CCTV.
By the start of July, earthquake coverage on the CCTV began to decline, as the preparations
for the Beijing Olympics grabbed the headlines. These numbers indicate the ebbs of media
attention over time. However, what waning media attention means in terms of effects on
audience members remains unclear. Future studies employing longitudinal designs could
better address the issue of fluctuation of media attention (and the effects of that fluctuation).

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Bios
Mihye Seo (PhD, The Ohio State University) is an assistant professor in the Department of
Communication, University at Albany, SUNY. Her areas of research include media effects and
political communication.
Shaojing Sun (PhD, Kent State University; PhD, University of Virginia) is an associate professor of School of Journalism at Fudan University in China. His research focuses on mediated
communication and research methodology.
Andy J. Merolla (PhD, The Ohio State University) is an assistant professor in the Department
of Communication Studies, Colorado State University. He researches in the areas of interpersonal, relational, and applied communication.
Shuangyue Zhang (PhD, The Ohio State University) is an assistant professor in the Department
of Communication Studies at Sam Houston State University. His research focuses on interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and computer-mediated communication.

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