Psychological resilience among university students exposed to earthquake fear mediated by emotion regulation difficulty and grit
Discover Psychology, cilt.6, sa.1, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 6 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s44202-026-00765-w
- Dergi Adı: Discover Psychology
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Earthquake fear, Emotion regulation difficulty, Grit, Psychological resilience, Serial mediation
- Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Fear of earthquakes can have a big impact on how people behave psychologically, especially in areas where natural catastrophes occur regularly. The present study investigated the effect of Earthquake Fear on Psychological Resilience, focusing on the serial mediating roles of Emotion Regulation Difficulty and Grit. Convenience sampling, which was chosen for practicality and accessibility, was used to gather data using an online survey (Google Forms). Participants were made aware of their right to discontinue participation at any moment and that it was entirely voluntary. The final sample consisted of 363 volunteer university students from various universities in Türkiye who experienced the earthquakes that occurred in 2023 in Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep. Structural equation modeling results demonstrated acceptable fit indices for both the measurement and structural models. Mediation analysis, conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS Macro Model 6 with 5,000 bootstrap samples, revealed that Emotion Regulation Difficulty and Grit jointly mediated the relationship between Earthquake Fear and Psychological Resilience. Specifically, higher levels of earthquake fear predicted greater emotion regulation difficulties, which subsequently reduced grit, ultimately diminishing psychological resilience. The proposed serial mediation model was supported by the statistical significance of the hypothesized direct and indirect channels. These results highlight the significance of focusing on emotion regulation mechanisms and bolstering grit in psychological therapies intended for people with anxiety related to disasters. The work contributes to the expanding corpus of research highlighting resilience-building strategies in populations under environmental stress.