Graphic Media Exposure During War and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation

Introduction: Exposure to dreadful graphic media images is consistently found to negatively impact civilians' psychological mental health. This empirical study investigated the direct and indirect links between two types of media exposure (human suffering and death; violent events and attacks) during and following the October 7 attacks on Israel, on the one hand, and posttraumatic symptoms (PTSS), on the other, specifically examining the mediating role of emotion regulation (suppression and reappraisal). Materials and Methods: A total of 455 individuals ranging in age between 18 and 83 completed measures of graphic exposure, emotion regulation, and PTSS, around one and a half years into the war. Results: Exposure to either human suffering or violent attacks was significantly associated with higher PTSS, mediated by greater emotion suppression. The emotion regulation strategy of reappraisal did not play such a role. Discussion: These findings point to the role of emotional suppression in contributing to PTSS following graphic exposure to highly distressing content. Working to reduce the use of suppression and encourage adaptive emotion regulation could play a key role in reducing the lasting impact of graphic exposure on PTSS in similarly distressing contexts.

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Shoval-Zuckerman, Y., & Horesh, D. (2025). The DSM-5 exclusion of media exposure to traumatic events: A critical reexamination in light of the October 7, 2023, attacks. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, 17(7), 1548–1550. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0002013