Fear of Earthquake and Psychological Distress: The Multiple Mediating Roles Intolerance of Uncertainty and Doomscrolling

Year 2025, Volume: 15 Issue: 78, 573 - 583, 20.09.2025

Bilal Kaya , Ayse Sarpkaya , Fulya Cenkseven Önder

https://doi.org/10.17066/tpdrd.1533628

Abstract

The fear of an earthquake is associated with psychological distress. However, little is known about how the fear of an earthquake can lead to psychological distress. This study set out to explore the multiple mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and doomscrolling between fear of earthquake and psychological distress. In this study, 415 participants were involved. Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze multiple mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and doomscrolling. The multiple mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and doomscrolling were statistically confirmed. This study revealed that the fear of an earthquake increased psychological distress, the indirect roles of intolerance of uncertainty and doomscrolling. These findings contribute to the clarification of the association between fear of an earthquake and psychological distress and the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. Nevertheless, further research is required to elucidate better the relationship between fear of an earthquake, intolerance of uncertainty, doomscrolling, and psychological distress. Recommendations are provided for practitioners and researchers.

Keywords

Fear of earthquake , psychological distress , intolerance of uncertainty , doomscrolling

References

• AFAD. (2023, March 1). Kahramanmaras¸’ta meydana gelen depremler hk. basın bulteni-36. https://www.afad.gov.tr/kahramanmarasta-meydana-gelen-depremler-hk-36.
• Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Imani, V., Saffari, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2022). The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and initial validation. International journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20(3), 1537–1545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8
• American Psychological Association (APA). Fear. In APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved August 8, 2023, from https://dictionary.apa.org/fear
• Anand, N., Sharma, M. K., Thakur, P. C., Mondal, I., Sahu, M., Singh, P., & Singh, R.(2022). Doomsurfing and doomscrolling mediate psychological distress in COVID‐19 lock down: Implications for awareness of cognitive biases. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 58(1), 170-172. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12803
• Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.3.411
• Apprich, N. F. A. (2022). Scrolling through the climate crisis: Exploring the ımpact of climate change related doomscrolling on helplessness and depression (Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente). https://essay.utwente.nl/95569
• Başoǧlu, M., Kiliç, C., Şalcioǧlu, E., & Livanou, M. (2004). Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression in earthquake survivors in Turkey: an epidemiological study. Journal of Traumatic Stress: Official Publication of The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, 17(2), 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOTS.0000022619.31615.e8.
• Beck, E., & Daniels, J. (2023). Intolerance of uncertainty, fear of contamination and perceived social support as predictors of psychological distress in NHS healthcare workersduring the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 28(2), 447-459. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2022.2092762.
• Buchanan, K., Aknin, L. B., Lotun, S., & Sandstrom, G. M. (2021). Brief exposure to social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: Doom-scrolling has negative emotionalconsequences, but kindness-scrolling does not. PloS One, 16(10), e0257728.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257728
• Carleton, R. N. (2016). Into the unknown: A review and synthesis of contemporary modelsinvolving uncertainty. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 39, 30–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.02.007
• Carleton, R. N., Sharpe, D. & Asmundson, G.J. (2007). Anxiety sensivity and intolerance of uncertainty: Requisites of the fundamental fears? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(10), 2307-2316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2007.04.006.
• Ceyhan, E., & Ceyhan, A. A. (2007). Earthquake quality of life and academic achievement six years after the earthquakes in Marmara, Turkey. Disasters, 31(4), 516-529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2007.01023.x
• Demirtas, A. S., & Yildiz, B. (2019). Hopelessness and perceived stress: The mediating role of cognitive flexibility and intolerance of uncertainty. Dusunen Adam The Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, 32(3), 259. https://doi.org/10.14744/dajpns.2019.00035
• Einstein, D. A. (2014). Extension of the transdiagnostic model to focus on ıntolerance of uncertainty: A review of the literature and ımplications for treatment. Clinical Psychology, 21(3), 280–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12077
• Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03193146
• Field, A. (2016). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics. London: Sage.
• Guerra, C., Cumsille, P., & Martínez, M. L. (2014). Post-traumatic stress symptoms inadolescents exposed to an earthquake: Association with self-efficacy, perceived magnitude,and fear. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 14(3), 202-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2014.05.001
• Gullo, S., Gelo, O. C. G., Bassi, G., Lo Coco, G., Lagetto, G., Esposito, G., ... & Di Blasi, M. (2022). The role of emotion regulation and intolerance to uncertainty on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and distress. Current Psychology, 1-12. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s12144-022-03071-5.
• He, X., Zhang, Y., Chen, M., Zhang, J., Zou, W., & Luo, Y. (2021). Media exposure to COVID-19 predicted acute stress: a moderated mediation model of intolerance of uncertainty and perceived social support. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 613368. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.613368
• Hebert, E. A., & Dugas, M. J. (2019). Behavioral experiments for intolerance of uncertainty: Challenging the unknown in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 26(2), 421-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2018.07.007
• Henry, J. D., & Crawford, J. R. (2005). The short- form version of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS‐ 21): Construct validity and normative data in a large non‐ clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44(2), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466505X29657
• Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
• Kowalski, K. M., & Kalayjian, A. (2001). Responding to mass emotional trauma: A mental health outreach program for Turkey earthquake victims. Safety Science, 39, 71-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-7535(01)00027-3
• Livanou, M., Kasvikis, Y., Başoğlu, M., Mytskidou, P., Sotiropoulou, V., Spanea, E., ... & Voutsa, N. (2005). Earthquake-related psychological distress and associated factors 4 yearsafter the Parnitha earthquake in Greece. European Psychiatry, 20(2), 137-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.06.025.
• McEvoy, P. M., & Mahoney, A. E. (2012). To be sure, to be sure: Intolerance of uncertainty mediates symptoms of various anxiety disorders and depression. Behavior Therapy, 43(3),533-545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2011.02.007
• Pardue, S. E.(2018). Effects of natural disaster exposure on emotional functioning moderated by coping, ıntolerance of uncertainty, and emotional reactivity. Southeastern Louisiana University; Hammond, LA, USA. 10792151.
• Prayag, G., Ozanne, L. K., & Spector, S. (2021). A psychological wellbeing perspective oflong-term disaster recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 63, 102438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102438
• Prizmić-Larsen, Z., Vujčić, M. T., & Lipovčan, L. K. (2023). Fear of COVID-19 and fear of earthquake: Multiple Distressing Events and Well-Being in Croatia. Psychological Reports, 00332941231156813. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231156813
• Santos-Reyes, J. (2020). Multi-hazard awareness, risk perception and fear to earthquakes: the case of high-school students in Mexico city. Journal of Risk Analysis and Crisis Response, 10(3), 91-96. https://doi.org/10.2991/jracr.k.200923.001
• Sarıçam, H., Erguvan, F. M., Akın, A., & Akça, M. Ş. (2014). The Turkish short version of the intolerance of uncertainty (IUS-12) scale: The study of validity and reliability. Route Educational and Social Science Journal, 1(3), 148-157. https://doi.org/10.17121/ressjournal.109
• Satici, S. A., Gocet Tekin, E., Deniz, M. E., & Satici, B. (2022). Doomscrolling Scale: Itsassociation with personality traits, psychological distress, social media use, and wellbeing. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 18, 833–847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-022-10110-7.
• Shabahang, R., Kim, S., Hosseinkhanzadeh, A. A., Aruguete, M. S., & Kakabaraee, K. (2022). “Give your thumb a break” from surfing tragic posts: potential corrosive consequences of social media users’ doomscrolling. Media Psychology, 26(4), 460-479. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2157287
• Sharma, B., Lee, S. S., & Johnson, B. K. (2022). The dark at the end of the tunnel: Doomscrolling on social media newsfeeds. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000059
• Strasser, M. A., Sumner, P. J., & Meyer, D. (2022). COVID-19 news consumption anddistress in young people: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 300, 481–491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.01.007
• Şeker, B. D. (2016). Evaluation of life satisfaction after the 2011 Van (Turkey) earthquake.Social Behavior and Personality: an International Journal, 44(9), 1409-1417. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2016.44.9.1409
• Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon, Inc.
• Tikvica-Luetić, A., Habek, D., Špoljar, P., Miletić, I. A., & Šklebar, I. (2022). Mothers’anxiety to aggravated acute fear of earthquakes in the city of Zagreb in the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatria Danubina, 34(2), 370-373. https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2022.370.
• Uchida, Y., Takahashi, Y., & Kawahara, K. (2014). Changes in hedonic and eudaimonic well-being after a severe nationwide disaster: The case of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Journalof Happiness Studies, 15, 207-221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9463-6
• Wang, X., Gao, L., Zhang, H., Zhao, C., Shen, Y., & Shinfuku, N. (2000). Post‐earthquakequality of life and psychological well‐being: Longitudinal evaluation in a rural communitysample in northern China. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 54(4), 427-433. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1819.2000.00732.x.
• Xu, J., & Song, X. (2011). A cross-sectional study among survivors of the 2008 Sichuanearthquake: Prevalence and risk factors of posttraumatic stress disorder. General Hospital Psychiatry, 33(4), 386-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2011.05.004.
• Yilmaz, O., Boz, H., & Arslan, A. (2017). The validity and reliability of depression stress and anxiety scale (DASS 21) Turkish short form. Research of Financial Economic and Social Studies, 2(2), 78–91. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/fesa/issue/30912/323190
• Ytre-Arne, B., & Moe, H. (2021). Doomscrolling, monitoring and avoiding: News use inCOVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Journalism Studies, 22(13), 1739-1755. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2021.1952475
• Zhou, X., Wu, X., & An, Y. (2016). Understanding the relationship between trauma exposureand depression among adolescents after earthquake: the roles of fear and resilience. Frontiersin Psychology, 7, 2044. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02044