The Relationship between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Problematic Social Media Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Serial Mediation Model.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(22)2022 Nov 13.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2110105
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant interruptions to life certainty, and there has been a lack of research on the influence of uncertainty. The present research aimed to explore how intolerance of uncertainty, maladaptive coping strategies, and fear of missing out affect social media use in a Chinese community sample (N = 311) during the pandemic. Serial mediation analysis was applied, integrating the mediating role of maladaptive coping strategy and fear of missing out. Intolerance of uncertainty, maladaptive coping strategies, and fear of missing out was positively related to PSMU. Based on the mediation analysis, when age and gender were controlled, the direct effect of intolerance of uncertainty on PSMU was significant. The total indirect effect was also significant. The effect of intolerance of uncertainty on PSMU was mediated by maladaptive coping strategies and fear of missing out. Taken together, maladaptive coping strategies and fear of missing out played a serial mediating role between intolerance of uncertainty and PSMU. The findings imply that strategies to improve the tolerance of uncertainty, reduce fear of missing out, and relevant coping strategies could be potentially helpful in mitigating problematic social media use, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Media
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph192214924
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