Content moderator mental health, secondary trauma, and well-being: a cross-sectional study
Article
Spence, R., Bifulco, A., Bradbury, P., Martellozzo, E. and DeMarco, J. 2024. Content moderator mental health, secondary trauma, and well-being: a cross-sectional study. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 27 (2), pp. 149-155. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2023.0298
Type | Article |
---|---|
Title | Content moderator mental health, secondary trauma, and well-being: a cross-sectional study |
Authors | Spence, R., Bifulco, A., Bradbury, P., Martellozzo, E. and DeMarco, J. |
Abstract | Content moderators (CMs) analyze and remove offensive or harmful user generated content that has been uploaded to the internet. Jobs which involve exposure to other people's suffering are associated with raised rates of secondary traumatic stress and mental health problems. However, research establishing psychological baseline symptoms in CMs is lacking. This study used an online survey to explore rates of psychological distress, secondary trauma, and well-being in a sample of CMs. Regression analysis explored how various features of the work affected mental health. There was a dose–response effect between frequency of exposure to distressing content and psychological distress and secondary trauma, but not well-being. The results suggested supportive colleagues and feedback about the importance of their role ameliorated this relationship. Implications for CM working conditions are discussed. |
Keywords | content moderation; mental health; secondary trauma; well-being; survey; cyberpsychology; behavior and social networking |
Sustainable Development Goals | 3 Good health and well-being |
Middlesex University Theme | Health & Wellbeing |
Research Group | Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies (CATS) |
Publisher | Mary Ann Liebert |
Journal | Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking |
ISSN | 2152-2715 |
Electronic | 2152-2723 |
Publication dates | |
Online | 29 Dec 2023 |
09 Feb 2024 | |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 26 Nov 2023 |
Deposited | 03 Jan 2024 |
Output status | Published |
Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open |
Copyright Statement | This is the accepted version of the following article: Ruth Spence, Antonia Bifulco, Paula Bradbury, Elena Martellozzo, and Jeffrey DeMarco. Content Moderator Mental Health, Secondary Trauma, and Well-being: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.Feb 2024.149-155, which has now been formally published in final form at Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking at https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2023.0298. This version of the article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers’ self-archiving terms and conditions. |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2023.0298 |
Web of Science identifier | MEDLINE:38153846 |
WOS:001165454900001 | |
Language | English |
https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/y5894
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