Journalists’ Experiences of Online Harassment: Anxiety, Depression, and Posttraumatic Stress

Abstract

Online harassment is a pervasive occupational hazard for journalists, often precipitating psychological distress. However, little is known about the specific clinically significant psychological symptoms journalists may experience following online harassment and how it predicts diagnosable clinical disorders. This study examines the relationship between online harassment and (1) scores on validated clinical measures of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms and (2) probable generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder using established clinical cutoffs among 282 American women journalists. Journalists were recruited through a series of emails, Facebook advertisements, and Facebook posts. They completed an online survey that included questions about demographics, online harassment experiences, and three standardized measures of anxiety (GAD-7), depression (CES-D-10), and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PCL-5). In this sample, 91.5% of journalists reported experiencing at least one instance of online harassment over the past 12 months; 41.8% reported probable generalized anxiety, 67.8% probable depression, and 15.6% probable PTSD. Cumulative online harassment burden predicted higher anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress scores and significantly predicted the odds of meeting the clinical cutoff for probable generalized anxiety disorder and probable PTSD. Interventions designed to target these specific reactions may be useful in treating journalists exposed to online harassment.

1. Introduction

Online harassment presents an occupational safety hazard for journalists around the world (Binns, 2017; Celuch et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2020; Feinstein et al., 2025; Fountaine & Strong, 2024; Koirala, 2020; Mantilla, 2015; Sammut et al., 2023; Westcott, 2019). In a study of 597 women media workers from around the world, 63% reported they had been threatened or harassed online in their lifetime (Ferrier, 2018). Another study of 695 Finnish media professionals found that 58% reported experiencing some form of online harassment in the preceding 6 months (Celuch et al., 2023), and a study of 246 Canadian journalists found that 26% of the sample had been harassed online within the past week (Feinstein et al., 2025). Among a sample of journalists in New Zealand, nearly 90% reported online harassment to their organizational email (Fountaine & Strong, 2024). Similarly, of 115 women journalists living in the United States and Canada, 90% of U.S. journalists and 71% of Canadian journalists cited online harassment as their biggest safety risk (Westcott, 2019). A study conducted by UNESCO and the International Center for Journalists (ICJ) of women journalists found 73% of respondents had experienced online harassment of various forms; 4% stated they had missed work due to concerns about their physical safety (Posetti et al., 2022). Moreover, in qualitative and quantitative reports of online harassment, journalists have reported experiencing fear (Binns, 2017; Jane, 2018; Tofalvy, 2017), anger (Binns, 2017; Jane, 2018), and other negative emotions (Binns, 2017).

The literature on journalists’ mental health, in general, tends to conflate distress with mental health disorders, particularly in qualitative work (e.g., Bedar, 2021; Banerjee & Kumar, 2025; Obermaier et al., 2023; Šimunjak, 2022; Soto-Sanfiel & Salojärvi, 2024). For example, feeling stressed because of work is referred to as “anxiety,” feeling sad or exhausted because of work is referred to as “depression,” and having one or two posttraumatic reactions (e.g., intrusive images of an event covered or fear) is deemed “posttraumatic stress disorder,” even though the individual does not meet determined clinical criteria to be given these diagnoses. This is unfortunate, as such fusing of concepts obfuscates appropriate interventions to assist journalists. Normative temporary reactions to occupational stressors, such as sadness or intrusive thoughts, may be healthy psychological signals that journalists are processing work experiences rather than suppressing them (Smith et al., 2019). Mislabeling normative reactions as disorders may not only stigmatize those effectively coping but may also prevent the development of effective mental health and workplace interventions. Not only is diagnostic accuracy important, but effective treatments for mental health disorders can vary depending on the reactions, type of distress, and/or severity of the problem that an individual is experiencing (Society of Clinical Psychology, n.d.). Therefore, the interventions provided to journalists should be determined by the types and severity of symptoms experienced (Jorm & Griffiths, 2006). For example, self-help strategies disseminated through organizational training may be the most efficient and cost-effective way of treating individuals experiencing subclinical anxiety or depression symptoms, while individuals with clinical disorders may benefit more from specific forms of formal psychotherapy (Cuijpers et al., 2014; Corpas et al., 2022). Therefore, this study identifies the specific clinical symptoms among journalists who experience online harassment.

2. Prevalence of Online Harassment

Definitions of online harassment, online violence, and online facilitated violence vary by discipline (e.g., psychology, business, and women’s studies; Bossler et al., 2012; Ford, 2013; Ojanen et al., 2014; Penza, 2018; Rodríguez-Darias & Aguilera-Ávila, 2018; Van Laer, 2014; Lee & Park, 2024). The broadest definitions of online harassment define it as interpersonal aggression or offensive behaviors that are communicated via electronic media (Vogels, 2021; Lenhart et al., 2016), which was the definition used in this study.

Unfortunately, existing studies of online harassment against journalists do not define online harassment consistently (Barton & Storm, 2016; Binns, 2017; Ferrier, 2018; Gardiner, 2018; Lee & Park, 2024; Löfgren Nilsson & Örnebring, 2016; Posetti et al., 2020; Westcott, 2019). Additionally, they vary in the types of aggressive behaviors that they measure (e.g., specific types of insults and threats received online, website comments that “went beyond acceptable criticism,” threats of physical and/or sexual violence, sexual harassment or discrimination, insults, or continually counteracting journalists’ work; Binns, 2017; Gardiner, 2018; Lee & Park, 2024). Further, studies on journalists also have widely variable samples ranging from samples of Swedish (Löfgren Nilsson & Örnebring, 2016) and Nigerian journalists (Oreoluwa et al., 2024) to samples of women media workers (Ferrier, 2018) to climate journalists (Feinstein et al., 2025). Despite this variability in samples, the current literature establishes a high prevalence of online violence against journalists, with rates ranging from 50.6% to 94% (Barton & Storm, 2016; Binns, 2017; Celuch et al., 2023; Feinstein et al., 2025; Ferrier, 2018; Fountaine & Strong, 2024; Gardiner, 2018; Löfgren Nilsson & Örnebring, 2016; Westcott, 2019; Posetti et al., 2020; Shah et al., 2024). Another consistent finding is that women disproportionately experience online harassment alongside their work (Feinstein et al., 2025; Ferrier, 2018; Posetti et al., 2022). While prevalence rates vary due to differences in methodologies, measurement tools, and samples, consistent findings highlight the critical need to investigate its consequences (Barton & Storm, 2016; Binns, 2017; Ferrier, 2018; Gardiner, 2018; Löfgren Nilsson & Örnebring, 2016; Westcott, 2019; Posetti et al., 2020; Shah et al., 2024).

3. Outcomes of Online Harassment

Studies examining the effects of online harassment against journalists have largely focused on general or non-specific symptoms, such as overall well-being and negative emotions. In a study of 185 journalists, 93.5% reported experiencing one of the following reactions following an online harassment: upset, very upset, frightened and/or intimidated, or angry (Binns, 2017). Additionally, in qualitative interviews, women journalists have described their online harassment experiences as “part of [their] work life that is unacceptable” (Jane, 2018, p. 576) and feeling as if they are being “hounded out of [cyberspace]” (p. 582).

Evidence of specific negative psychological outcomes of online harassment was limited prior to 2022, including one study of college students (Lindsay et al., 2016) and one study of journalists (Gardiner, 2018). Both studies found victims of online harassment “felt anxious” (34% of the college sample and 37% of the journalist sample) and “felt depressed” (37% of the college sample and 43% of the journalist sample) following online harassment. However, the use of single-item measures limits the diagnostic value of the studies, as anxiety and depression consist of multiple specific symptoms that occur over a specified timeframe (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Additionally, the terms “anxious” and “depressed” may have different meanings for different participants, further limiting generalizability (Lengnick-Hall, 1995; Neall & Tuckey, 2014; Nieborg & Foxman, 2018; Nielsen et al., 2010; Notelaers & Van der Heijden, 2019).

After 2022, the field began examining online harassment relating to specific psychological outcomes. In a global study of online violence against women journalists, 26% reported adverse mental health consequences, with 86 indicating they sought medical or psychological help (Posetti et al., 2022). Yet, much of the current research does not provide specific information about the symptom clusters linked to psychological diagnoses that may result from experiencing online harassment. One study of South Korean journalists found that online harassment was linked to trauma responses (Lee & Park, 2024). Among Pakistani journalists working in conflict zones, online harassment was associated with depression, anxiety, and stress (Shah et al., 2024). However, consistent with other work in this area, no clinical thresholds were applied to either study. Feinstein et al. (2025) sampled 246 Canadian journalists, examining psychological responses to online harassment. The frequency of online harassment was significantly correlated with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

The link between harassment and its impact on anxiety, depression, and PTSD risks remains under-researched. No known studies have examined whether online harassment predicts probable generalized anxiety, probable depression, or probable PTSD in Western journalists using validated diagnostic cutoffs. Overall, there is a continued need to use measures with diagnostic utility that map onto existing and relevant diagnostic criteria. Then, the impact of online harassment can begin to be understood in terms of diagnostic symptom severity and potential interventions.

4. Current Study

This study examines the types of online harassment and the clinical symptoms women journalists may experience in response to online harassment, specifically symptoms associated with a depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and traumatic stress disorder. Given that women experience anxiety, depression, and PTSD at significantly higher rates than men in the general population (American Psychiatric Association, 2022) and women and men differ in their experiences of online harassment both phenomenologically and psychologically (e.g., Buchanan & Mahoney, 2022; Enock et al., 2024; Kim et al., 2017; Nadim & Fladmoe, 2021; Vogels, 2021; Wang et al., 2019), we designed the study to focus on women to reduce gender confounds. Secondly, we were aware that Posetti and colleagues were working on an impactful study funded by UNESCO (Posetti et al., 2022), which aimed to characterize online violence against women journalists as “one of the most serious contemporary threats to press freedom internationally.” Hence, this study aimed to supplement that work with clinical measures.

It was expected that women journalists who experienced greater cumulative online harassment would report higher (1) anxiety scores, (2) depression scores, and (3) posttraumatic stress scores. We also tested whether greater cumulative online harassment burden significantly increased the likelihood of probable generalized anxiety, probable depression, and probable PTSD using clinical cutoffs. Generally, a clinical cutoff score is a numerical threshold that was statistically determined to ensure that a test has a high probability of identifying those with a disorder, typically by comparing clinical interviews and test scores. The term “probable” is used to distinguish a clear diagnosis made by a clinical provider, which guides treatment decisions, from a likely diagnosis determined using a clinically validated threshold in this study (Pauker & Kassirer, 1980).

5. Materials and Methods

Data was collected as part of a larger study on women journalists and online harassment. The study recruited English-speaking United States residents who self-identified as at least 18 years old, a woman, and an employed journalist whose journalistic work was accessible online. Participants were recruited from 6 July to 21 August 2020, through a variety of methods, including Facebook advertisements, Facebook posts, and emails. The survey was shared in Facebook groups including “The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma,” “D.C. Journalists,” “Latinos in Journalism,” and “Journalists Covering Trauma,” among others. The Facebook advertisements, which ran from 6 July to 27 July 2020, targeted Facebook users who listed their occupation as a photojournalist (the only journalist occupation available through Facebook Ad Manager) or followed or liked at least one of the following pages: the Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalist, Journalists on Facebook, National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association, and Journalism. The advertisement was viewed by over 100,000 Facebook users, and the survey link was clicked 874 times and resulted in 92 usable response sets from participants who met the inclusion criteria.

Additionally, emails were sent requesting journalists to participate in the survey and send the survey to other possible participants, media companies, and journalism organizations. Email addresses were obtained in a variety of ways, including through searches of organizations’ membership directories (e.g., the National Press Photographers Association), National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting System, and newspaper websites based in all 50 states.

Across all recruitment methods, 456 participants began the survey; 174 did not provide usable data. Of these 174 participants, 141 opened the survey and either did not start or only completed a few items of the survey before stopping. Of the eliminated participants who completed the survey, 21 participants were not currently employed as journalists, 5 did not reside in the United States, 4 did not have a professional presence online, 1 was not at least 18 years old, 1 was not fluent in English, and 1 did not self-identify as a woman. In total, 282 eligible participants provided demographic data, 281 provided information on the type and frequency of online harassment, and of these two groups, 179 also completed all psychological outcome measures. Two participants provided all demographic data except for age, and two different participants provided all demographic data except for sexual orientation; however, they were still included in the analyses.

6. Measures

6.1. Demographics

Participants completed a questionnaire consisting of four items measuring age, sexuality, race/ethnicity, and current employment. The women’s age ranged from 20 to 80 (N = 280, M = 34.15, Md = 31.00, SD = 11.07). Of those who reported their sexual orientation (N = 280), the majority identified as heterosexual (83.6%, n = 234), followed by bisexual (8.9%, n = 25), queer (2.9%, n = 8), lesbian (2.5%, n = 7), pansexual (1.4%, n = 4), and asexual (0.7%, n = 2). Most participants identified as White (81.9%, n = 231), followed by Hispanic (6.4%, n = 18), Asian (4.6%, n = 13), biracial or multicultural (2.5%, n = 7), Black or African American (2.1%, n = 6), other (1.4%, n = 4), and American Indian or Alaska Native (1.1%, n = 3). Of the 228 participants who provided information about current employment status, the majority were employed full-time by a single employer (81.6%, n = 186), followed by freelancers (11.4%, n = 26), those employed full-time by multiple employers (4.4%, n = 10), those employed part-time by a single employer (2.2%, n = 5), and those employed part-time by multiple employers (0.4%, n = 1).

6.2. Frequency and Categories of Online Harassment

The Online Harassment Experience Questionnaire (OHEQ) includes nine items measured on a 6-point Likert scale (from 0 (never) to 5 (multiple times a day); range 0–45). The questionnaire also assesses the types of online harassment experienced (Slaughter & Newman, 2022). The OHEQ demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.76). Because the total OHEQ score aggregates responses across harassment types, the same score may reflect high-frequency harassment of a few types or low-frequency harassment across many types; therefore, total scores are referred to as cumulative harassment burden to more accurately capture the composite nature of the measure.

6.3. Anxiety

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) measures anxiety symptoms. The GAD-7 consists of seven items measured on a 4-point Likert scale (range 0–21; Spitzer et al., 2006). Scores of 5–9 suggest mild anxiety, 10–14 suggest moderate anxiety, and 15 and above suggest severe anxiety, including items such as “feeling nervous, anxious or on edge” and “becoming easily annoyed or irritable.” A study by Feinstein et al. (2025) used the GAD-7 among Canadian journalists and showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.93). The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency in the current study (α = 0.93).

6.4. Depression

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Short Form (CES-D-10; Radloff, 1977) measures depression symptoms. The scale consists of 10 items measured on a 4-point Likert scale (range 0–40). Scores of 10 and above suggest probable depression (Andresen et al., 1994). The CES-D-10 has demonstrated good internal consistency in clinical (α = 0.86–0.90) and healthy samples (α = 70; Mohebbi et al., 2018). Further, a study of journalists that used the German version of the shortened CES-D demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.88; Weidmann et al., 2008). The scale also demonstrated good internal consistency in the current study (α = 0.85).

6.5. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5; Blevins et al., 2015) measures PTSD symptoms. The PCL-5 consists of 20 items measured on a 4-point Likert scale (range 0–80). Domains include re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance, negative cognition, and hyperarousal. The PCL-5 instructions were modified to direct participants to answer questions about the most stressful experience discussed in the OHEQ, linking symptoms directly to online harassment. Scores of 33 and above suggest a probable PTSD diagnosis (Morrison et al., 2021; Pettrich et al., 2025). The PCL-5 has demonstrated excellent internal consistency in first responders (α = 0.94; Morrison et al., 2021). Feinstein and Osmann (2023) found excellent internal consistency using the PCL-5 with a diverse population of journalists (McDonald’s ω = 0.96). Likewise, the scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency in the current study (α = 0.96).

7. Results

7.1. Online Harassment Experiences

Of the 281 participants who answered all questions about online harassment frequency and type, only 8.5% (n = 24) reported experiencing no online harassment in the past 12 months (see

Table 1. Means and standard deviations of online harassment experiences for the past 12 months (N = 282).

Harassment Item	M	Md	SD
I experienced unwanted sexual attention	1.34	1.00	1.34
Someone threatened to harm me	0.53	0.00	0.774
My personal information was posted online, where others could see it 1	0.40	0.00	0.79
Someone hacked, stole, or otherwise gained access to my online accounts without my permission	0.16	0.00	0.47
Offensive or hurtful comments were directed at me or posted about me, or I was insulted/called names	1.67	1.00	1.27
Someone spread untrue rumors about me	0.73	0.00	1.05
I was excluded from an online group	0.41	0.00	0.75
I was impersonated by someone	0.11	0.00	0.47
I was denied access to my online account(s) (e.g., overwhelmed me with messages to crash the account, misuse of online reporting tools to prevent me from accessing my accounts)	0.09	0.00	0.331
Total harassment burden	5.45		4.74

Note. Items measured on a 0–5 scale. ¹ One participant did not answer the item “My personal information was posted online where others could access it.”

and

Table 2. Percentage of journalists who experienced each type of online harassment in the past 12 months (N = 282).

Harassment Type	Never	<1 Monthly	2–4 Times Monthly	2–4 Times Weekly	Daily	Multiple Times a Day
I experienced unwanted sexual attention	32.63	30.85	18.09	9.22	6.38	2.83
Someone threatened to harm me	59.57	31.56	6.38	1.77	0.36	0.36
My personal information was posted online, where others could see it 1	73.66	17.44	6.05	1.78	0.71	0.36
Someone hacked, stole, or otherwise gained access to my online accounts without my permission	87.24	11.35	0.35	0.71	0.35	0.00
Offensive or hurtful comments were directed at me or posted about me, or I was insulted/called names	17.38	35.82	22.70	14.89	4.96	4.25
Someone spread untrue rumors about me	54.98	28.72	8.86	3.90	2.83	0.71
I was excluded from an online group	68.79	25.89	2.84	0.71	1.77	0.00
I was impersonated by someone	92.21	5.67	1.42	0.35	0.00	0.35
I was denied access to my online account(s)	92.55	6.03	1.42	0.00	0.00	0.00

¹ One participant did not answer the item “My personal information was posted online where others could access it.”

). Additionally, 13.8% (n = 39) of participants experienced only one type of online harassment. In total, 7.4% (n = 21) of participants reported experiencing offensive comments and no other types of online harassment, 4.6% (n = 13) of participants reported experiencing unwanted sexual attention and no other types of online harassment, 1.1% (n = 3) of participants reported having their account information hacked or stolen and no other types of online harassment, and 0.7% (n = 2) of participants reported experiencing exclusion and no other online harassment types.

7.2. Variable Distributions

Table 3. Descriptive statistics and maximum ranges for online harassment, psychological outcomes, and control variables.

Scale	N	M	SD	Range	Max Range	α
OHEQ	281	5.45	4.74	0–23	0–45	N/A
GAD-7	225	9.25	5.97	0–21	0–21	0.93
CES-D-10	230	12.36	6.05	0–30	0–30	0.85
PCL-5	180	16.08	16.75	0–80	0–80	0.96

OHEQ = Online Harassment Experience Questionnaire. GAD-7 = Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. CES-D-10 = Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Short Form. PCL-5 = PTSD Checklist for DSM-5.

and

Table 4. Correlations among online harassment, psychological outcomes and control variables.

Scale	2	3	4
1. OHEQ	0.195 **	0.199 **	0.454 **
2. GAD-7	-	0.747 **	0.545 **
3. CES-D-10	-	-	0.570 **
4. PCL-5	-	-	-

Note. ** p < 0.001. OHEQ = Online Harassment Experience Questionnaire. GAD-7 = Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. CES-D-10 = Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Short Form. PCL-5 = PTSD Checklist for DSM-5.

provide descriptive statistics and correlations for the measures used in hypothesis testing. In this sample, 41.8% of journalists scored 10 or higher on the GAD-7, suggesting a probable generalized anxiety disorder (Spitzer et al., 2006); 67.8% of journalists scored 10 or higher on the CES-D-10, suggesting a probable depression diagnosis (Andresen et al., 1994); and 15.6% of journalists scored 33 or higher on the PCL-5, suggesting a probable PTSD diagnosis (Morrison et al., 2021).

7.3. Hypothesis Testing

To explore increases in anxiety, depression, and PTSD scores per increase in total OHEQ cumulative burden score, linear regressions were utilized. Analyses showed that cumulative online harassment burden significantly predicted all three symptom score increases. Specifically, cumulative online harassment burden (B = 0.264, SE = 0.089, p = 0.003) significantly predicted anxiety scores, with greater burden predicting higher anxiety scores (F [2, 223] = 8.766, R² = 0.038, p = 0.003). Cumulative online harassment burden (B = 0.272, SE = 0.089, p = 0.003) also predicted depression scores, with greater burden predicting higher depression scores (F [1, 228] = 9.34, R² = 0.040, p = 0.003). Lastly, cumulative burden predicted PTSD scores (B = 1.699, SE = 0.251, p < 0.001), with greater burden predicting higher PTSD scores (F [1, 178] = 45.973, R² = 0.206, p < 0.001).

Symptom-Level Analysis

To explore the odds of meeting clinical criteria for probable generalized anxiety disorder, probable depression, and probable PTSD based on cumulative online harassment burden, binary logistic regressions were utilized. Specifically, binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine whether OHEQ scores predicted the likelihood of meeting clinical thresholds for probable generalized anxiety, probable depression, and probable PTSD.

Using a GAD-7 clinical cutoff score of 10 (Spitzer et al., 2006), the regression model was statistically significant, χ²(1) = 7.92, p = 0.005. The model explained 5.8% of the variance (Nagelkerke R² = 0.058) and correctly classified 60.7% of cases. Thus, cumulative online harassment burden significantly predicted probable generalized anxiety, β = 0.103, SE = 0.038, OR = 1.11, 95% CI [1.03, 1.19].

Using a CES-D-10 clinical cutoff score of 10 (Baron et al., 2017), the regression model was not significant, χ²(1) = 4.15, p = 0.042, with Nagelkerke R² = 0.033. Classification accuracy was 70.6%. Therefore, cumulative online harassment burden was not a significant predictor of probable depression, β = 0.087, OR = 1.09, 95% CI [0.997, 1.20].

Using a PCL-5 clinical cutoff score of 33 (Morrison et al., 2021), the regression model was statistically significant, χ²(1) = 13.22, p < 0.001. The model accounted for 12.7% of the variance (Nagelkerke R² = 0.127) and correctly classified 84.8% of cases. Cumulative online harassment burden was a significant predictor of probable PTSD, β = 0.158, OR = 1.17, 95% CI [1.08, 1.28].

8. Discussion

The study examined the relationship between online harassment and psychological disorder symptoms in journalists who identified as women. First, this study identified that online harassment is a clear occupational concern for women journalists, with higher online harassment prevalence rates than previously documented (Barton & Storm, 2016; Binns, 2017; Celuch et al., 2023; Feinstein et al., 2025; Ferrier, 2018; Fountaine & Strong, 2024; Gardiner, 2018; Löfgren Nilsson & Örnebring, 2016; Westcott, 2019; Posetti et al., 2020; Shah et al., 2024), with 91.5% reporting they have experienced online violence. These higher rates must be interpreted with caution, as they may reflect the convenience sampling methodology, thereby limiting generalizability to broader populations. More than a quarter reported monthly experiences of each of these types of harassment: threatened harm, unwanted sexual attention, offensive comments, the spreading of untrue rumors, and exclusion from an online group. Our study respondents reported similar rates of offensive comments as those found among Pakistani journalists (Shah et al., 2024), but found higher rates of unwanted sexual attention and lower rates of threats and rumors. Although the high rates of online harassment endorsed in our study may reflect sampling bias, attracting participants who experienced or felt strongly about online harassment, many respondents reported never or seldom experiencing certain forms of harassment, mitigating this possibility. Focusing solely on women journalists increases the likelihood of high exposure rates given their elevated harassment risk (Posetti et al., 2022), which might explain the differences between our study and the study of Pakistani male and female journalists (Shah et al., 2024). Clearly, the rates found in this study indicate that online harassment is a common occupational hazard that journalists must navigate personally and professionally. Future replication studies on the incidence and prevalence rates of online harassment faced by journalists, especially in more representative samples, are needed.

Unlike previous studies (Feinstein et al., 2025; Lee & Park, 2024; Shah et al., 2024), the current study used clinically validated measures and established clinical cutoffs to explore the relationship between cumulative online harassment burden and psychological responses. The current study explored the relationship between the burden of online harassment (i.e., cumulative scores of type and frequency of harassment) and associated psychological disorders, establishing a dose–response relationship. Results showed that cumulative harassment burden significantly predicted generalized anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptom scores per increase in total OHEQ score. Simply put, the greater the burden of online harassment that women journalists reported, the higher their anxiety, depression, and PTSD scores. These results extend the findings of Shah et al. (2024), where the extent of online harassment was found to contribute to depression and anxiety symptoms. Likewise, the study emphasizes findings seen in the Lee and Park (2024) study, where online harassment was linked to trauma responses. Further, the findings extend work by Feinstein et al. (2025), which found online harassment to be correlated with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

The current study also used clinically meaningful diagnostic cutoffs to determine the odds of meeting clinically significant probable generalized anxiety disorder, probable depression, and probable PTSD based on online harassment burden. Results showed that, using a clinical cutoff, PTSD was most significantly predicted by cumulative online harassment burden. Although other forms of trauma exposure were not measured, online harassment emerged as a significant predictor of probable PTSD, underscoring the necessity to continue exploring the connection. PTSD was endorsed at a lower rate than both probable generalized anxiety disorder and probable depression, with over fifteen percent reporting probable PTSD. This suggests that online harassment may serve as a more potent trauma-inducing stressor than for anxiety or depression.

Probable clinically significant generalized anxiety was also significantly predicted by cumulative online harassment burden, with over forty percent of participants endorsing probable generalized anxiety. Interestingly, while nearly sixty-eight percent of journalists endorsed a symptom level meeting the clinical threshold of probable depression, a probable depression diagnosis was not significantly predicted by online harassment. Since increased cumulative online harassment burden was associated with increased depression symptoms, it may be possible that the depression measure captured some of the emotional distress that is also part of a PTSD diagnosis or was simply associated with subclinical distress. The association between PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder and online harassment, but not depression, suggests that occupational prevention and intervention strategies focusing on trauma reactions and anxiety management may need to be prioritized over mood-related interventions for journalists facing online harassment.

When taking into account the fact that women are more likely to develop generalized anxiety, depression, and PTSD (American Psychiatric Association, 2022), and that women journalists are more likely to experience online harassment (Posetti et al., 2022), research should continue to use validated measures to explore the impact of online harassment on the development of psychological disorders. In the present study, probable depression emerged as a prominent concern for journalists—with nearly sixty-eight percent of participants meeting the clinical cutoff—regardless of its marginal connection to online harassment. Depression among women journalists may not be due to the occupational problem of harassment per se, but it requires care nevertheless. Hence, research should continue to untangle mental distress and mental health disorders resulting from online harassment among journalists. Knowing that specific disorders require different interventions (Society of Clinical Psychology, n.d.), specificity in diagnosis will inform best practice. Policies and interventions should target online harassment towards journalists and subsequent symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma.

Study results indicate that online harassment, an occupational stressor, is associated with myriad psychological reactions that may be distressing but may not require clinical intervention. Although more research is needed, the results suggest that for global prevention and intervention, psychoeducation, training, and informational campaigns on normative coping may be useful. However, it does appear that experiences of online harassment are associated with risks of developing PTSD or generalized anxiety disorder, such that organizational policies and procedures for assessment and referral to specialists would be warranted. Regardless, newsroom culture should foster environments of self-care, peer support, and trauma-aware leadership and necessitate advocacy for insurance coverage of mental health treatment if needed (Sachs et al., 2025).

9. Limitations and Future Research

The current study examined the relationship between online harassment and clinically significant symptom levels of probable generalized anxiety, probable depression, and probable PTSD using a sample of female journalists from the United States. Though female journalists experience high rates of online harassment (Lewis et al., 2020; Posetti et al., 2022), larger, more diverse samples are needed to understand the scope of this issue. The current study relied on convenience sampling, which may account for the high online harassment prevalence rates, limiting generalizability. Further, the sample may have self-selected due to recruitment methods (i.e., Facebook advertisements, Facebook posts, and emails), potentially skewing results towards journalists who have experienced online harassment. While the symptom-level analysis provides valuable information on the relationship between online harassment and clinically significant symptomology, it has limitations. Additionally, in clinical practice, screening instruments are typically followed by a clinical interview conducted by a mental health professional. Thus, the diagnostic utility of the current study remains within the boundaries of “probable” rather than clinical diagnoses. The cross-sectional design may detect existing vulnerabilities rather than development proximal to online harassment experiences. Further, analyses relied on self-reports. The binary classification of clinical thresholds may oversimplify the complexity of clinical disorders. The current study was limited by the availability of measurements of online harassment in the field. The OHEQ is a new measure and needs further development (Slaughter & Newman, 2022), which may have been reflected by the modest internal consistency (α = 0.76) in the current study. Further, the use of the summed online harassment across types (i.e., cumulative burden) may limit interpretability, as the composite scores conflate how often harassment occurs with the different types of experiences. As a result, identical OHEQ scores across types reflect different experiences (e.g., high-frequency harassment of a single type versus low-frequency harassment across multiple types). The field, therefore, must continue to create validated measurements of online harassment that allow research to more clearly analyze, quantify, and ultimately understand the nature of those experiences.

10. Conclusions

As journalism has moved into the digital world, journalists have faced unsettling online safety concerns and interpersonal aggression (Jane, 2018; Posetti et al., 2020). The current work adds to existing literature showing that online harassment is indeed prevalent and that many journalists experience clinically significant mental health difficulties associated with online harassment, creating occupational safety hazards (Mantilla, 2015; Van Zoonen, 2002). Importantly, impacts on journalists’ mental health can impair performance and ultimately cause them to leave the profession, threatening journalism as an institution (Slavtcheva-Petkova et al., 2023).

Taken together, this study furthers the progress toward addressing online harassment against journalists by demonstrating that online harassment is significantly associated with anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms and that online harassment significantly predicts clinically meaningful probable generalized anxiety and probable PTSD. The work provides further rationale for developing effective interventions and policies for addressing online harassment in this population.