Doomscrolling and Existential Anxiety among Emerging Adults in Pakistan: Moderating Role of Cognitive Reappraisal

Objective: This study aimed to examine the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal on the relationship between doomscrolling and existential anxiety among emerging adults in Pakistan. Study design: It was cross-sectional study. Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at National Orthopedic and general hospital of Bahawalpur from February to July 2025. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional research design was employed. A total of 323 participants (125 men, 198 women) aged 18–29 years were recruited from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Participants completed the Doomscrolling Scale (Sharma et al., 2022), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire – Cognitive Reappraisal Subscale Short Form (Preece et al., 2023), and the Existential Anxiety Questionnaire (Weems, 2024). Results: Correlational analyses indicated a significant positive relationship between doomscrolling and existential anxiety. However, cognitive reappraisal did not significantly moderate the association between doomscrolling and existential anxiety or its subscales Conclusion: These findings suggest that the ability to use cognitive reappraisal in response to emotionally challenging situations, such as exposure to negative social media content, may be limited among Pakistani emerging adults. Cultural norms surrounding emotional expression and regulation may influence these outcomes, resulting in inconsistent moderation effects. The study highlights the need to consider cultural and contextual factors when evaluating emotion regulation strategies in digital media contexts.