Breaking news, breaking minds? Social media engagement and peritraumatic stress behavior immediately after the Russian – Ukrainian war outbreak. The role of peritraumatic anxiety and dispositional resilience

This study examined peritraumatic stress behavior concerning social media engagement in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. Specifically, we examined the link between social media engagement (i.e., affective, behavioral, cognitive) and peritraumatic stress behavior (i.e., emotional distress, physical awareness) among Romanian adults immediately after the war outbreak, as well as the mediating role of peritraumatic anxiety and the moderating role of dispositional resilience in this relation. The sample included 363 participants aged 19 to 64, residents in the northeast part of Romania, the country with the longest border with Ukraine. Results suggested that affective and behavioral social media engagement are positively related, while cognitive social media engagement is negatively associated with peritraumatic stress behavior. Peritraumatic anxiety was linked to the relationship between social media engagement and physical awareness. Further, dispositional resilience was negatively related to peritraumatic stress behavior and moderated the relation between social media engagement and peritraumatic stress behavior. These results contribute to the literature on social media exposure and stress behavior during war. Also, the results sustain the potential role of peritraumatic anxiety as an explanatory mechanism for the relation between social media exposure and peritraumatic stress behavior, highlighting the important role of dispositional resilience in decreasing the relation between social media exposure and peritraumatic stress behavior. • Examined the link between social media engagement (SME) and peritraumatic stress behavior (PSB) among Romanian adults. • Affective and behavioral SME are positively related to PSB. • Cognitive SME is negatively related to PSB. • Dispositional resilience moderated the relation between SME and PSB. • Peritraumatic anxiety is linked to the relationship between SME and physical awareness.