Earthquake fear,doomscrolling,anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty: A longitudinal serial mediation study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the level of intolerance of uncertainty experienced by earthquake victims due to earthquake fear, doomscrolling and anxiety approximately 1 year after the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake. A total of 255 Turkish University students (83.9% female, M_age = 21.81 years, SD = 3.81) completed self-report questionnaires on earthquake fear, doomscrolling, anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty. Data collection was carried out in two waves 6 months intervals. The results showed that doomscrolling and anxiety were serial mediators in the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty, and earthquake fear affected intolerance of uncertainty through three mediation pathways. Interventions aimed at making earthquake fear controllable may also be effective in reducing the risk of intolerance of uncertainty. Finally, the effect of doomscrolling and anxiety on the development of intolerance to uncertainty after a disaster should also be considered in practice as a clinical implication.

Keywords

earthquake fear doomscrolling anxiety intolerance of uncertainty longitudinal serial mediation

Introduction

On 6 February 2023, approximately 14 million people in 11 provinces of Türkiye were directly affected by 2 devastating earthquakes. These earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 respectively, killed more than 48,000 people. On the other hand, according to official government records, over 270,000 buildings were reported to be no longer fit for use (SBB, 2023). It is reported that approximately 107,000 people were injured to varying degrees in this earthquake (AA, 2023a). In the first phase after the earthquake, around 2 million people had to migrate to other cities (SBB, 2023). Approximately 38,000 aftershocks occurred in Türkiye after two major earthquakes (AA, 2023b). Historically, people in Türkiye have regularly experienced such devastating consequences of earthquakes. Since 1900 until today, 269 earthquakes of different magnitudes have occurred in Türkiye, causing destruction and loss of life (ITU, 2023). These data show that people in Türkiye are seriously harmed by earthquakes. These damages have important psychological outcomes. However, the majority of studies examining the relationship between earthquakes and mental health have been structured in accordance with a cross-sectional design (Bilge et al., 2024; Yayla and Şahinöz, 2020; Zhou et al., 2016). Therefore, longitudinal studies are needed to fully understand what kind of psychological processes post-earthquake fear may trigger temporally.

In a study involving child and adult earthquake victims after the 1999 earthquake in Türkiye, it was determined that they experienced pathological levels of anxiety and fear (Kowalski and Kalayjian, 2001). Fear of recurrence of the earthquake is the most effective construct in posttraumatic stress disorder experienced by survivors after the earthquake in Türkiye (Salcioğlu et al., 2018). In addition, a longitudinal study in Croatia reported that individuals with earthquake experience were more fearful of earthquakes compared to the COVID-19 pandemic (Prizmić-Larsen et al., 2025). If earthquake fear is combined with uncertainty, it can lead to some psychological problems (Afifi et al., 2012; Şahin, 2019). Therefore, it is important to focus on the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty in earthquake survivors. Destructive images after an earthquake have a significantly confusing effect on what might happen in the future. Because the sense of intolerance to uncertainty about disasters in undergraduate students in Singapore may create an irrational response to disasters (Hong and Lee, 2015). Previous studies have shown that individuals exposed to destructive images can fuelling feelings of uncertainty (Gottschick et al., 2023; Malecki et al., 2023). Fear of war has increased intolerance of uncertainty even among 310 Italian young adults who were not direct victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war (Regnoli et al., 2024). Similarly, fear of Covid-19 significantly increased intolerance of uncertainty in 960 Turkish participants (Bakioğlu et al., 2021). As a result, it is clear that disasters that create a collective effect can increase the feeling of uncertainty towards the unknown at a pathological level.

Findings supporting a direct relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty make it important to explore the underlying sequential mechanisms. For example, individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty are likely to experience psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression (Comer et al., 2009; Dugas and Ladouceur, 2000; Kesby et al., 2017). However, In a cross-sectional study with 402 adult individuals, doomscrolling was reported to be positively associated with psychological distress and anxiety in earthquake victims (Kartol et al., 2023). An experimental study of 88 people in Beijing also showed a positive relationship between anxiety and uncertainty under imminent threat (Chen et al., 2018). Therefore, this study focuses on examining the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty and the basic mediating mechanisms of doomscrolling and anxiety using a longitudinal approach.

Doomscroling and anxiety as mediator variables

Doomscrolling refers to a structure characterised by the obsessive exposure of individuals to predominantly destructive and depressing news in social media information content in the event of a crisis or any disaster (Sharma et al., 2022; Slaughter, 2020). The study of 401 people from OECD countries indicated that news feeds on smartphones may have exaggerated the need for instant news and developed an abnormal addiction to negative news in users (Sharma et al., 2022). When Covid-19 first emerged, people associated news sources with the concept of ‘watching the apocalypse’. Intensive monitoring of the threat of the virus on health processes in news feeds during the Covid-19 pandemic has linked doomscrolling to important psychological processes (Ytre-Arne and Moe, 2021). Therefore, it is important to discover the impact of doomscrolling in life events that create a collective effect such as earthquakes. Doomscrolling is often negatively associated with positive health processes (Satici et al., 2023; Watercutter, 2020). Because, A study of 512 Chinese university students found that focussing on negative news content can damage physical and psychological resilience (Zhao and Zhou, 2020). Constantly focussing on bad news may increase the difficulty in tolerating uncertainty. A study involving 432 Turkish participants supported the positive relationship between doomscrolling and intolerance of uncertainty (Kaya and Griffiths, 2025). Thus, regular exposure to depressing news may reduce tolerance for future uncertainty (Du and Lyu, 2021). Therefore, we predict that doomscrolling may be a mediating factor between earthquakes fear and intolerance of uncertainty.

Individuals who witness mass traumas in the media have the potential to develop anxiety and depressive symptoms (Pfefferbaum et al., 2021). Chinese elderly earthquake survivors have been reported to experience significant levels of anxiety after the earthquake (Liang, 2017). Because the fear that occurs in people after destructive life events is positively correlated with anxiety (Gottschick et al., 2023; Regnoli et al., 2024). Studies conducted after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake in Türkiye in 2023 showed that fear of earthquakes was positively associated with psychological distress including anxiety (Satıcı et al., 2024). After the earthquake, individuals experience feelings of anger and guilt more frequently along with anxiety (Ehring et al., 2011). There are empirical findings suggesting that anxiety may be related to negativity and uncertainty (Dugas and Ladouceur, 2000). Similarly, previous studies imply that high anxiety may have a stronger effect on individuals with poor tolerance for uncertainty (Andrews et al., 2023; Jensen et al., 2016). Consequently, anxiety may also have a mediating effect between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty.

Finally, doomscrolling can also lead to anxiety-related symptoms. Individuals who engage in intensive information seeking on social media news feeds have more anxiety symptoms (Brailovskaia et al., 2020). Doomscrolling involves an obsessive focus on the depressing consequences of a disaster with large-scale destructive consequences, such as an earthquake, and may also visualise other negative scenarios that may occur in the future. Bad scenarios that may happen in the future may naturally trigger anxiety in the individual (Zaleski et al., 2019). Thus, by researching negative news and being exposed to unpleasant images, people can raise their anxiety levels to an extraordinary level (Anand et al., 2022). Because it was found that the anxiety levels of individuals who developed an obsessive addiction to bad news about climate change increased significantly (Hartlieb, 2024). Americans who spent an average of 55 minutes per day on social media news feeds to access COVID-related news reported more anxiety and depression (Riehm et al., 2020). Given the above theoretical and empirical findings, it is reasonable to expect that doomscroling and anxiety have a serial mediating effect in the relationship from earthquake fear to intolerance of uncertainty. Specifically, we hypothesise that those with frequent earthquake fears may increase the risk of intolerance of uncertainty by first promoting symptoms of doomscroling and then anxiety. To test a serial longitudinal model with two waves at 6-month intervals, the following hypotheses were designed:

H1. Doomscolling will longitudinally mediate the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty

H2. Anxiety will longitudinally mediate the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty

H3. Doomscolling and anxiety jointly will have a longitudinal serial mediation effect on the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty

Method

Participant and procedure

This study was approved by the Bingöl University Social and Human Sciences Ethics Committee (Date: 15.02.2024, reference number: 33117789/044/140115). At the beginning of the scale forms, participants were presented with an informed consent form about the purpose and scope of the study. The participants supported this study completely voluntarily. In the verbal information given before the study, it was emphasised that the participants could withdraw at any stage. The measurement tools were delivered to the target group through appropriate sampling method and Google form. This study is a two-wave longitudinal study conducted at 6-month intervals. No reward, money or points were given to the participants for participating in the study because it was not in accordance with normative values. The target sample of the study was university students in Bingöl province, which was declared a disaster area in the earthquake on 6 February 2023. We collected the first wave of data approximately 1 year after the earthquake. Located at the intersection of the North Anatolian Fault Zone and the East Anatolian Fault Zone, Bingöl province is considered one of the provinces with the highest earthquake risk in Türkiye (Balun et al., 2020; Doğruyol, 2020). There are 305 university students at wave 1 and 262 university students at wave 2. The mean age of the participants was 21.81 years (SD = 3.81, and range = 17–52 years years). The final sample group consisted of 255 individuals (83.9% female).

Measures

Earthquake fear scale (EFS)

EFS, developed by Satıcı et al. (2024), is a 7-item Likert-type scale scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The EFS was developed to determine the level of earthquake fear experienced by earthquake victims. Sample item: ‘I lose sleep because I am worried about being caught in an earthquake’. Higher scores indicate a higher level of earthquake fear. The previous study provided excellent evidence for the reliability of the EFS (α = 0.96; Kartol et al., 2023). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of EFS was 0.91 and 0.90 at T1 and T2, respectively.

Doomscrolling scale (DS)

DS, developed by Satici et al. (2023) is a 15-item Likert-type scale scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). In this study, the 4-item short form of the scale was used. The scale was developed to determine how much people focus on depressing news in social media news feeds. Sample item: ‘More and more often I feel the urge to search for bad news on social media.’ High scores indicate high levels of doomscrolling. The previous study provided good evidence for the reliability of the DS (α = 0.81; Kaya and Griffiths, 2025). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of DS was 0.87 and 0.88 at T1 and T2, respectively.

Depression anxiety stress scale-21 (DASS-21)

DASS-21, developed by Lovibond and Lovibond (1995) and adapted into Turkish by Sarıiçam (2018), is a 21-item Likert-type scale scored from 0 (Never) to 3 (Always). In this study, the 7-item anxiety sub-dimension of DASS-21 was used. The anxiety subscale of the DASS-21 was developed to determine people’s anxiety levels. Sample item: ‘I worry about situations where I might panic and make a fool of myself’. Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety. The previous study provided good evidence for the reliability of the DASS-21 (α = 0.85; Bakioğlu et al., 2021). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the anxiety subscale of the DASS-21 was found to be 0.88 and 0.88 at T1 and T2, respectively.

Intolerance of uncertainty scale (IUS)

IUS, developed by Carleton et al. (2007) and adapted into Turkish by Sarıçam et al. (2014), is a 12-item scale that is scored from 1 (not at all appropriate for me) to 5 (completely appropriate for me). IUS consists of two sub-dimensions: inhibitory anxiety and prospective anxiety. Sample item: ‘One should always look ahead to avoid surprises’. Higher scores indicate a higher level of intolerance to uncertainty. The IUS adaptation study has provided sufficient evidence for reliability (α = 0.88; Sarıçam et al., 2014). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of IUS was 0.77 and 0.75 at T1 and T2, respectively.

Big five inventory (BFI)

BFI was developed by Rammstedt and John (2007) and adapted into Turkish by Horzum et al. (2017). This scale includes the big five personality traits (i.e. extraversion, conscientiousness). Consisting of 10 items (e.g. ‘I see myself as someone who gets angry easily’), the scale is scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness subscales of the scale were used in this study. BFI was applied only at T1. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of BFI was found to be 0.72, 0.70 and 0.72 for neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness, respectively.

Data analysis

Some preliminary analyses were performed using SPSS 24. Firstly, we tested whether our research variables met the normality assumptions. It was checked whether the skewness and kurtosis values were within acceptable limits (Kline, 2016). In the second stage, correlation coefficients (for time1 and time2), reliability, mean and standard deviation of all research variables were calculated. In the third stage, PROCESS macro model 4 (Hayes, 2017) was used to test the first two hypotheses. Subsequently, for the third hypothesis, it was tested whether the hypothetic serial mediation model using model 6 in Hayes’s (2017) PROCESS macro was significant at 95% confidence interval with bootstrapping 5000 resampling method. In this model, we defined earthquake fear as the independent variable in T1, intolerance of uncertainty as the dependent variable in T2, and anxiety as the mediating variable in T2 with doomscrolling in T2. Gender, age, neuroticism, conscientious and extraversion were controlled as covariates.

Results

Mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis values, correlation coefficients and reliability coefficients of the research variables were calculated in Table 1. Before analysing the correlation coefficients of the research variables, skewness and kurtosis values of research variables were found to meet the normality assumptions. Table 1 showed that there was a significant relationship between earthquake fear at T1–T2, doomscrolling at T1–T2, anxiety at T1–T2 and intolerance of uncertainty at T1–T2. Earthquake fear at T1–T2 was significantly associated with doomscrolling at T1–T2, anxiety at T1–T2, and intolerance of uncertainty at T1–T2. Similarly, anxiety at T1–T2 showed a significant correlation with intolerance of uncertainty at T1–T2. Doomscrolling showed a significant correlation with intolerance of uncertainty at T1, but did not show a significant correlation with intolerance of uncertainty at T2. Finally, doomscrolling at T2 was significantly associated with intolerance of uncertainty at T1–T2.

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics.

Variables	Descriptive statistics and reliabilities					Correlations
Variables	M	SD	Skewness	Kurtosis	α	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1. Earthquake fear T1	3.36	1.79	−0.29	−0.86	0.91	—
2. Earthquake fear T2	3.17	1.05	−0.26	−0.75	0.90	0.57**	—
3. Doomscrolling T1	4.06	1.82	−0.03	−1.11	0.87	0.44**	0.22**	—
4. Doomscrolling T2	3.79	1.78	−0.10	−1.04	0.88	0.25**	0.55**	0.30**	—
5. Anxiety T1	2.19	0.83	0.39	−0.75	0.88	0.59**	0.41**	0.40**	0.19**	—
6. Anxiety T2	2.05	0.82	0.52	−0.69	0.88	0.31**	0.61**	0.20**	0.44**	0.58**	—
7. Intolerance of uncertainty T1	3.66	0.77	−0.35	−0.25	0.77	0.37**	0.29**	0.31**	0.24**	0.27**	0.17**	—
8. Intolerance of uncertainty T2	3.49	0.73	−0.05	−0.33	0.75	0.20**	0.38**	0.12	0.36**	0.16**	0.35**	43**

p < 0.001.

Longitudinal mediation effects

To test the longitudinal mediation model, we defined earthquake fear as the predictor variable at T1, doomscrolling and anxiety as mediating variables at T2, and intolerance of uncertainty as the outcome variable at T2. Gender, age, neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and intolerance of uncertainty(T1) were included in the model as covariates. The longitudinal mediation model includes three indirect effects in total (Ind1: earthquake fear (T1) → doomscrolling (T2) → intolerance of uncertainty (T2), Ind2: earthquake fear (T1) → anxiety (T2) → intolerance of uncertainty (T2), Ind3: earthquake fear (T1) → doomscrolling (T2) → anxiety (T2) → intolerance of uncertainty (T2)). The standardised regression coefficients for the direct paths in the model are presented in Figure 1. The direct and indirect effects of earthquake fear on intolerance of uncertainty are shown in Table 2.

Figure 1.

Coefficients of the longitudinal serial mediation model. The value in parentheses represents the total effect. **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Table 2.

Standardized coefficients of direct, indirect and total effects in the longitudinal serial mediation model.

Variables	Effect	SE	BC boot 95% CI
Variables	Effect	SE	LL	UL
Total effect	0.106	0.041	0.0258	0.1867
Direct effect	0.041	0.041	−0.0394	0.1206
Earthquake fear T1 → Doomscrolling T2 → Intolerance of uncertainty T2	0.034	0.015	0.0093	0.0673
Earthquake fear T1 → Anxiety T2 → Intolerance of uncertainty T2	0.022	0.011	0.0038	0.0486
Earthquake fear T1 → Doomscrolling T2 → Anxiety T2 → Intolerance of uncertainty T2	0.0089	0.004	0.0016	0.0195

Direct effect was Earthquake Fear T1 → Intolerance of uncertainty T2. BC Boot 95% CI = Bias-corrected bootstrap 95% confidence interval.

LL: lower limit; UL: upper limit.

The results were considered significant if the 95% confidence interval for the direct, indirect and total effect coefficients did not include 0. First, model 4 was tested for the longitudinal mediating effect of doomscrolling. After controlling for covariates, the direct effect of earthquake fear at T1 on intolerance of uncertainty at T2 was found to be nonsignificant (B = 0.063, t[255]= 1.56, p > 0.05). Earthquake fear at T1 significantly predicted doomscrolling at T2 (B = 0.362, t[255]= 3.59, p < 0.001). Doomscrolling at T2 significantly predicted intolerance of uncertainty at T2 (B = 0.119, t[255]= 4.87, p < 0.001). Consistent with our hypothesis (H1), the indirect effect from earthquake fear to intolerance of uncertainty via doomscrolling (Ind1; effect = 0.043, 95% CI [0.0165, 0.0769]) is significant. Similarly, model 4 was used for the longitudinal mediating effect of anxiety. The direct effect of earthquake fear at T1 on intolerance of uncertainty at T2 was found to be non-significant (B = 0.058, t[255]= 1.41, p > 0.05). The effect of earthquake fear at T1 on anxiety at T2 is significant (B = 0.204, t[255] = 4.64, p < 0.001). Anxiety at T2 significantly predicted intolerance of uncertainty at T2 (B = 0.233, t[255] = 4.09, p < 0.001). Consistent with our hypothesis (H2), the indirect effect from earthquake fear to intolerance of uncertainty via anxiety (Ind2; effect = 0.047, 95% CI [0.0192, 0.0809]) is also significant.

Finally, after including the covariates in the model, model 6 was used to test the serial mediation model longitudinally. After controlling for covariates, the direct effect of earthquake fear at T1 on intolerance of uncertainty at T2 was found to be non-significant (B = 0.041, t[255]= 0.99, > 0.05).Earthquake fear at T1 significantly predicted doomscrolling at T2 (B = 0.362, t[255] = 3.59, p < 0.001) and anxiety at T2 (B = 0.145, t[255] = 3.47, p < 0.001). Doomscrolling at T2 also significantly predicted anxiety at T2 (B = 0.161, t[255] = 6.27, p < 0.001). Finally, both doomscrolling at T2 (B = 0.095, t[255] = 3.63, p < 0.001) and anxiety at T2 (B = 0.153, t[255] = 2.55, p < 0.001) significantly predicted intolerance of uncertainty at T2. Consistent with our hypothesis (H3), the indirect effect from earthquake fear to intolerance of uncertainty through doomscrolling and anxiety (Ind3) is significant (effect = 0.0089, 95% CI [0.0016, 0.0195]).

Discussion

Earthquakes are natural disasters that may have long-term negative effects on people’s mental health (Ceyhan and Ceyhan, 2007; Pan et al., 2015). Uncertainty about where and when an earthquake may occur may disrupt the person’s life adaptation and functionality. In this 2-wave longitudinal study of a sample of Turkish university students who have directly or indirectly experienced earthquakes, we focussed on exploring the basic mechanisms underlying the pathway from earthquake fear to intolerance of uncertainty. With reference to previous studies, we hypothesised that doomscrolling and anxiety mediated the pathway from earthquake fear to intolerance of uncertainty. Consistent with our hypotheses, the findings showed that the total effect of earthquake fear was positively related to intolerance of uncertainty, while doomscrolling and anxiety mediated this relationship separately. Moreover, it appeared that doomscrolling and anxiety symptoms may also have a serial mediating effect on the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty (respectively). In order to make causal inferences between the variables in this study easier, it is recommended to measure the dependent and independent variables at different time points (Maxwell and Cole, 2007).

The first finding of the study revealed that earthquake fear was a positive predictor of intolerance of uncertainty over a 6-month period. The increase in earthquake fear decreases the tolerance of earthquake survivors towards long-term uncertainties. This may lead the person to intense thoughts about bad scenarios that may happen in the future. Therefore, it is understood that the threat perception towards earthquake weakens the sense of control in the individual and affects not only immediate reactions but also long-term psychological processes. This result is consistent with the fear-induced increase in intolerance of uncertainty among Italians after the Russian-Ukrainian war (Regnoli et al., 2024). Because the fear caused by the earthquake can sometimes distract the person from the ability to evaluate the world realistically (Hong and Lee, 2015). However, another important finding of the study is that the positive relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty lost its significant relationship after the mediating variables were added to the model. This finding indicated that the effect of earthquake fear on intolerance of uncertainty depends on the level of doomscrolling and anxiety experienced by the individual for 6 months.

The current study found that doomscrolling has a significant mediating effect between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty. Therefore, the effect of negative news feeds on social media on the intolerance of uncertainty that an individual with high earthquake fear will experience 6 months later is noteworthy. This means that people who are exposed to earthquake fear move away from the perception that the world is a safe space and focus on negative news feeds. This situation weakens the person’’s tolerance for uncertainty. Furthermore, these findings suggest that people with high earthquake fear should spend as little time as possible on negative news content on social media, which may indirectly make them more comfortable with uncertainty. This first hypothesis (H1) of the research is consistent with previous studies (Kaya and Griffiths, 2025; Ytre-Arne and Moe, 2021). Especially with the uncertainty experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been reported that people are more exposed to social media news feeds and this has a dramatic impact on mental health (Sharma et al., 2022).

Another finding of the study is that the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty is mediated by anxiety (H2). Based on this result of the study, it can be concluded that people who have been exposed to earthquake fear are at risk for anxiety disorder and this may exacerbate the individual’s conflicts with uncertainty. Anxiety disorders are associated with previous negative life events (Ehring et al., 2011; Pfefferbaum et al., 2021; Satıcı et al., 2024; Weems et al., 2016). Individuals often associate anxiety with uncertainties about themselves and the world (Andrews et al., 2023; Dugas and Ladouceur, 2000; Jensen et al., 2016). In conclusion, the finding of this study that long-term anxiety develops in individuals with earthquake fear and this decreases the tolerance to uncertainty is consistent with previous studies.

Finally, we also found that earthquake fear can significantly predict intolerance of uncertainty through longitudinal serial mediation of doomscrolling and anxiety symptoms (H3). In other words, this finding implies that earthquake fear may trigger doomscrolling and that the addictive focus (doomscrolling) on negative news after the earthquake causes anxiety by rapidly distancing the person from the perception that the world is a safe living space. Finally, the anxiety experienced with the doomscrolling effect weakened the person’s tolerance to uncertainty. No study has been found that evaluates all these concepts together. However, there are studies that confirm the findings of the present study by addressing the serial mediator variables of the study (doomscrolling and anxiety; Anand et al., 2022; Brailovskaia et al., 2020; Zaleski et al., 2019). In conclusion, earthquake fear, doomscrolling and anxiety are determinants of post-earthquake intolerance of uncertainty.

Limitations and future directions

Although this study has some longitudinal strengths, some limitations should be noted when interpreting its findings. The first limitation of the study is that the participants may contain some measurement errors such as social desirability and participant bias. Because all measurements are based on self-report, obtaining information from different sources or multi-method data collection approaches can reduce these errors. Secondly, the participants in this study were not fully representative of Turkish earthquake survivors. The participants in this study were university students who had directly or indirectly experienced the earthquake and lived in a province with a high earthquake risk. Future studies will take this into account and studies to be conducted separately with groups of participants with different earthquake experiences (i.e. clinical sample) and different age groups will reveal more inclusive results. This may produce more inclusive results. Thirdly, the way of being affected by the earthquake (death, injury, destruction of house, etc.) was not taken into account in this study. However, this important variable should be included in the models as covariance. Fourthly, since the mediator and dependent variables are measured at the same time point (T2), it limits the inference of causality. A 3-wave (i.e. cross-lagged panel model) longitudinal study can be conducted against this limitation. Finally, the fact that most of the items in the measurement tools contain intensely negative expressions has the potential to create a bias in the participants. It is suggested that reverse items with positive connotations should be included in future studies.

Implications

This research has some important implications that have clinical value in the context of intervention and prevention studies on coping with anxiety and uncertainty after disasters. In a sample of university students, the inability to control one’s earthquake fear may make them more vulnerable and lead to risky consequences on mental health. Individuals with high earthquake fear may develop doomscrolling towards social media news feeds to monitor the devastating effects of the earthquake and learn about the severity and impact of frequent aftershocks, which may increase the frequency and severity of the anxiety experienced and subsequently reduce the individual’s tolerance for uncertainty. Firstly, mental health professionals working in the earthquake region should emphasise that earthquake fear may trigger addiction to negative news feeds on social media. However, psycho-education about doomscrolling, social media and related algorithms can be organised after the earthquake. In this process, it should be emphasised that intensive use of social media can make the emotional state of anxiety and uncertainty uncontrollable. In addition, coping capacities can be increased by preparing individuals for the earthquake fear in regions with high disaster risk. In order to cope more effectively with uncertainty, simplified mindfulness techniques for anxiety management (thought management) can be acquired by individuals. Finally, some clinical intervention programmes are also recommended to gain psychological functionality after the earthquake. For example, there is evidence that trauma-focussed cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) is effective in negative psychological consequences due to earthquake fear (Kar, 2011).

Conclusion

Specifically, this study has 3 main conclusions. First, there is a positive relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty, and of earthquake fear appears to be a determinant of intolerance of uncertainty after 6 months. Second, doomscrolling and anxiety function as two separate independent mediators of the relationship between earthquake fear and intolerance of uncertainty. Third, it seems more plausible to consider doomscrolling as an antecedent variable of anxiety.

Footnotes

ORCID iD

Mustafa Özmen

Ethical considerations

APA ethical standards were followed in the conduct of the study and approval was obtained from Bingöl University Social and Human Sciences Institutional Review Board. (Ref:2024/ 33117789/044/140115).

Consent to participate

Informed consent forms were obtained from all participants.

Consent for publication

Consent for publication is not applicable to this article as it does not contain any identifiable data.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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