Parallel Mediating Role of FoMO and Mental Well-Being Between Entrapment and Psychological Distress

Individuals may occasionally experience psychological distress and entrapment, which is not a desirable situation. Psychological distress is defined as a state of emotional suffering characterized by symptoms of depression and anxiety, whereas entrapment is defined as negative feelings caused by an unsuccessful struggle and the belief that the defeating situation cannot be resolved or escaped. Currently, rapid developments have brought along with them the fear of missing out on these developments. In order to minimize these undesirable situations in human life, this study aims to test the mediating role of FoMO and mental well-being between psychological distress and entrapment. The relationships between these variables have not been investigated before and this study is the first to investigate the relationships between the mentioned variables. 64 male and 420 female participants over the age of 18 participated in the study voluntarily. To evaluate the related variables, Entrapment Scale, Fear of Missing Out Scale, Mental Well-Being Scale, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale were used. Structural Equation Modeling was used to conduct mediation analysis on the study's data. The findings revealed that FoMO and mental well-being acted as parallel mediators of psychological distress and entrapment. In other words, psychological distress predicts entrapment both directly and through fear of missing out and mental well-being. In the model, psychological distress positively predicted entrapment and FoMO, but mental well-being negatively predicted. The direct relationship between psychological distress and entrapment, through related mediators, significantly aids individuals in managing negative experiences such as psychological distress, entrapment, and FoMO more effectively. The current research is a quantitative model explaining the relationship between psychological distress, entrapment, fear of missing out and mental well-being. The findings are discussed within the scope of the relevant literature.