Adolescents' and parents' anxiety during COVID-19: is there a role of cyberchondriasis and emotion regulation through the internet?

Akgul G., Atalan Ergin D.

CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY, cilt.40, sa.10, ss.4750-4759, 2021 (SSCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 40 Sayı: 10
  • Basım Tarihi: 2021
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s12144-020-01229-7
  • Dergi Adı: CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, BIOSIS, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.4750-4759
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Anxiety, Adolescent, Parents, Cyberchondria, Emotion regulation through internet, GENDER-DIFFERENCES, HEALTH ANXIETY, MEDIATING ROLE, DISORDERS, SYMPTOMS, SCALE, METAANALYSIS, INFORMATION, STRATEGIES, MANAGEMENT
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır

Özet

COVID-19 pandemic period presents a unique context for the investigation of anxiety symptoms among adolescents and their parents. This study investigated adolescents' and their parents' anxiety symptoms, the effects of parental cyberchondriasis and adolescents' emotion regulation on anxiety symptoms. The sample consisted of 155 adolescents (x = 14.63, SD = 2.04) and one of their parents (N = 155). The results showed that after controlling for adolescents' gender and emotion regulation, parental cyberchondriasis and anxiety accounted for an important variance in adolescents' anxiety. Especially higher parental anxiety and compulsion were associated with higher anxiety, whereas higher distress was associated with lower anxiety. Besides, two dimensions of cyberchondriasis, compulsion, and distress, together with adolescent anxiety, predicted parental anxiety during COVID-19. While compulsion was negatively associated with anxiety, distress, and adolescent anxiety were positively associated with it. The dimensions of cyberchondriasis affected anxiety differently among adolescents and their parents. The results were discussed in terms of the implications for intervention from the ecological viewpoint.