The Relationship between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Problematic Social Media Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Serial Mediation Model

Chaoran Sun, Yumei Li (), Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok and Wenlong Mu
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Chaoran Sun: Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 518057, China
Yumei Li: Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 518057, China
Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok: Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 518057, China
Wenlong Mu: School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University, Bayi Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan 430072, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-11

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: maladaptive coping strategies; intolerance of uncertainty; fear of missing out; problematic social media use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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