Assistant Professor Sara Grady presented at the Positive Media Psychology Symposium at Chapman University on Oct. 6. She spoke about media-based coping and the use of comforting media in times of stress. 

Scholars from all over the U.S. and Europe gathered to discuss how and when media use may promote well-being, mental health and a range of other positive outcomes.  

The multi-study project Grady presented analyzes an international cross-sectional survey experiment that examines the media users associate with comforting experiences in times of stress. 

When faced with the stresses of daily life, people often turn to media. Media can support emotionally-focused coping strategies and provide comfort in users' efforts to counteract these stressors. The researchers looked at the media content features associated with comfort and examined if these vary with the type of stressor (physical vs socio-emotional) across four countries. They found positively valenced and familiar media that is associated with parasocial relationships and nostalgia is considered most comforting, regardless of stress type or cultural context.

Grady’s research was partly funded by the Leibniz Institute for Psychology, and just won a top paper award in the Mass Communication division of the National Communication Association Convention.