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Could Combat Stress Affect Journalists’ News Reporting? A Psychophysiological Response

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Abstract

Covering war conflicts may compromise the psychological and physical health of journalists because chronic exposure to these environments has been related to depression, memory dissociative processes, and post-traumatic stress disorder; however, acute effects have not been studied yet. Thus, a combat simulation was carried out replicating actual warfare scenarios, including personnel and equipment. Psychophysiological response, memory, and information-processing were analysed of 40 professional soldiers (21 males and 19 females) and 19 journalists (12 males and 7 females) with international experience in current conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, in relation to their experience of a combat intervention. A significant increase (p < 0.05) in metabolic, muscular, cardiovascular, and cortical and psychological anxiety response, as well as a decrease in memory accuracy directly after and 24 h and 72 h post-combat were found; these modifications were modulated by the nature of the stimulus. Journalists presented higher cognitive and memory impairment than soldiers, resulting in a press reporting of real events accuracy of only 27%.

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Acknowledgements

We want to acknowledge the contribution of the Head Quarter of the Spanish Light Forces and the Journalism School of the European University of Madrid.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Centre in Applied Combat (CESCA), Toledo, Spain

    José Francisco Tornero-Aguilera, José Juan Robles-Pérez & Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez

  2. Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Tajo street, s/n, 28670, Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, Spain

    José Francisco Tornero-Aguilera & Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez

  3. Cuartel General de Fuerzas Ligeras, Ejército de Tierra, Madrid, Spain

    José Juan Robles-Pérez

  4. Grupo de Investigación en Cultura, Educación y Sociedad, Universidad de La Costa, Barranquilla, Colombia

    Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez

Authors
  1. José Francisco Tornero-Aguilera
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  2. José Juan Robles-Pérez
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  3. Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez
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Correspondence to Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez.

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Tornero-Aguilera, J.F., Robles-Pérez, J.J. & Clemente-Suárez, V.J. Could Combat Stress Affect Journalists’ News Reporting? A Psychophysiological Response. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 45, 231–239 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-020-09473-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-020-09473-0

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