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Exploring the Gender Dimension : Social Support, Doom-Scrolling, and Anxiety in Climate Change Discourse
Hartlieb, Roman (2024) Exploring the Gender Dimension : Social Support, Doom-Scrolling, and Anxiety in Climate Change Discourse.
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| Abstract: | This study investigates the intersection of climate change awareness, doom scrolling, and mental health, specifically focusing on anxiety symptoms. Doom scrolling, the compulsive consumption of negative news, is analyzed in the context of climate change, exploring its impact on anxiety. The study, involving 185 participants through an online survey, hypothesizes that perceived social support, moderated by gender, plays a role in mitigating the relationship between heightened doom-scrolling on climate change and increased anxiety symptoms. Results indicate that doom-scrolling related to climate change positively correlates with anxiety symptoms, as does general doom-scrolling. The introduction of perceived social support as a moderator strengthens the negative relationship between doom-scrolling and anxiety symptoms. This effect remains consistent across gender conditions, suggesting a buffering effect of perceived social support on mental health, regardless of gender. However, the study acknowledges potential gender skew in its participant sample, emphasizing the importance of future research with balanced gender representation for generalizability. Additionally, the study highlights its cultural limitations due to a predominantly German and Dutch sample and emphasizes the necessity of diversified research to comprehend doom-scrolling's implications beyond the context of COVID-19. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/98304 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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