SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Research on Education and Psychology / 2026 / Volume: 10

Doomscrolling and Psychological Resilience: The Indirect Role of Cognitive Flexibility

Dilara Şahin(MİLLİ SAVUNMA ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0009-0007-8029-4297
Özge Erduran Tekin(MİLLİ SAVUNMA ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-4052-1914
Pages
—
Publication Date
2026-09-26
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

These findings indicate that cognitive flexibility accounts for a modest portion of the association between doomscrolling and psychological resilience but does not appear to alter its strength.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study examined the relationships among doomscrolling, cognitive flexibility, and psychological resilience in adults and investigated whether cognitive flexibility was indirectly associated with psychological resilience and moderated the association between doomscrolling and psychological resilience.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Using a quantitative cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected through an online survey from 212 adults aged 20-50 residing in Türkiye who actively used digital media.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:These findings indicate that cognitive flexibility accounts for a modest portion of the association between doomscrolling and psychological resilience but does not appear to alter its strength.
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Cognitive flexibility · Digital media · Doomscrolling

Abstract

This study examined the relationships among doomscrolling, cognitive flexibility, and psychological resilience in adults and investigated whether cognitive flexibility was indirectly associated with psychological resilience and moderated the association between doomscrolling and psychological resilience. Using a quantitative cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected through an online survey from 212 adults aged 20-50 residing in Türkiye who actively used digital media. Participants completed a Demographic Information Form, the Doomscrolling Scale, the Cognitive Flexibility Scale, and the Brief Resilience Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, bootstrap analysis, and hierarchical regression were used to examine the proposed relationships. Doomscrolling was negatively associated with psychological resilience and cognitive flexibility, whereas cognitive flexibility was positively associated with psychological resilience. The indirect association between doomscrolling and psychological resilience through cognitive flexibility was statistically significant but small. In contrast, the interaction between doomscrolling and cognitive flexibility was negligible and not statistically significant. These findings indicate that cognitive flexibility accounts for a modest portion of the association between doomscrolling and psychological resilience but does not appear to alter its strength. Given the cross-sectional design, interpret the findings as statistical associations rather than evidence of causal or temporal relationships.

🔖

Cite This Article

Şahin, D., Tekin, Ö. E. (2026). Doomscrolling and Psychological Resilience: The Indirect Role of Cognitive Flexibility. Research on Education and Psychology, Volume: 10. https://doi.org/10.54535/rep.2000199

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (27)

  1. Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. SAGE Publications.
  2. Anlı, G. (2023). Felaket Haberlerini Kaydırma Ölçeği Türkçe Formu’nun geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [The validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the Doomscrolling Scale]. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 25(1), 301–316. https://doi.org/10.16953/deusosbil.1178025
  3. Avcı, G., Vampa, M., Kreso, I., Homaei, M., & Putra, O. P. (2026). Emerging evidence on doomscrolling: A scoping review of empirical studies. Journal of Social Media Research, 3(2), 162–171. https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.102
  4. Canoğulları, Ö. (2025). The effect of social media addiction on psychological stress: The indirect role of doomscrolling. Journal of Theoretical Educational Sciences, 18(3), 491–508. https://doi.org/10.30831/akukeg.1586146
  5. Cengiz, H. (2025). The relationship between doomscrolling, artificial intelligence anxiety, and job-finding anxiety among university students. OPUS Journal of Society Research, 22(4), 627–639. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1695844
  6. Çeken, S. (2025). The role of cognitive flexibility and psychological resilience in enhancing operational performance among air traffic controllers. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 12(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.58940/2374-6793.1966
  7. Çelikkaleli, Ö. (2014). Bilişsel Esneklik Ölçeği’nin geçerlik ve güvenirliği [Validity and reliability of the Cognitive Flexibility Scale]. Eğitim ve Bilim, 39(176), 339–346. https://doi.org/10.15390/EB.2014.3466
  8. Doğan, T. (2015). Kısa Psikolojik Sağlamlık Ölçeği’nin Türkçe uyarlaması: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [The Turkish adaptation of the Brief Resilience Scale: A validity and reliability study]. The Journal of Happiness & Well-Being, 3(1), 93–102. https://jhwbjournal.com/makale/53
  9. Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149
  10. Genet, J. J., & Siemer, M. (2011). Flexible control in processing affective and non-affective material predicts individual differences in trait resilience. Cognition and Emotion, 25(2), 380–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2010.491647
  11. Goretzko, D., Siemund, K., & Sterner, P. (2024). Evaluating model fit of measurement models in confirmatory factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 84(1), 123–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644231163813
  12. Güme, S. (2024). Felaket kaydırması: Bir gözden geçirme [Doomscrolling: A review]. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar, 16(4), 595–603. https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.1416316
  13. Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
  14. Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A general theory of stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
  15. Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
  16. Kaya, B., & Griffiths, M. D. (2025). Intolerance of uncertainty and mental well-being: The mediating and moderating role of doomscrolling. Behavior & Information Technology, 44(10), 2323–2332. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2024.2314747
  17. Kaya, Y., Osmanoğlu, N., Satıcı, S. A., & Deniz, M. E. (2025). Self-compassion and death distress among individuals affected by the February 6, 2023, Türkiye earthquake: The mediating role of doomscrolling and resilience. Journal of Health Psychology, 30(12), 3258–3270. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053241282129
  18. Martin, M. M., & Rubin, R. B. (1995). A new measure of cognitive flexibility. Psychological Reports, 76(2), 623–626. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1995.76.2.623
  19. Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(4), 717–731. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206553
  20. Rodrigues, E. V. (2022). Doomscrolling-threat to mental health and well-being: A review. International Journal of Nursing Research, 8(4), 127–130. https://doi.org/10.31690/ijnr.2022.v08i04.002
  21. Samuel, A. V., & Selvam, M. P. (2025). Doomscrolling addiction: Psychological consequences and strategies to overcome negative news consumption on social media. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 7(4), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i04.50152
  22. Satıcı, S. A., Gocet Tekin, E., Deniz, M. E., & Satıcı, B. (2023). Doomscrolling Scale: Its association with personality traits, psychological distress, social media use, and well-being. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 18(2), 833–847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-022-10110-7
  23. Shannon, H., Bush, K., Shvetz, C., Paquin, V., Morency, J., Hellemans, K. G. C., & Guimond, S. (2024). Longitudinal problematic social media use in students and its association with negative mental health outcomes. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 17, 1551–1560. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S450217
  24. Sharma, B., Lee, S. S., & Johnson, B. K. (2022). The dark at the end of the tunnel: Doomscrolling on social media newsfeeds. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 3(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000059
  25. Sharpe, A. T. R., Tyndall, I., Poulus, D. R., Obine, E. A. C., & Sharpe, B. T. (2026). The influence of doomscrolling on mental health: A scoping review. Mental Health and Digital Technologies, 3(3), 290–342. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHDT-10-2025-0068
  26. Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The Brief Resilience Scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(3), 194–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972
  27. Stainback, K., Hearne, B. N., & Trieu, M. M. (2020). COVID-19 and the 24/7 news cycle: Does COVID-19 news exposure affect mental health? Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 6, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023120969339