The role of coping strategies and social networking sites addiction: The mediating role of perceived social support among a sample of Yazidis

Abstract

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked the Yazidis who are a minority in Iraq. This act resulted in the crime of genocide in August 2014. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of coping strategies on social networking site (SNS) addiction with perceived social support (PSS) as a potential mediator. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 611 Yazidi internally displaced persons (IDP) adults (males = 304, females = 307). The participants' age ranged from 18-60 years old with a mean age of 27.07 and SD = 9.13. A convenient sampling technique for gathering the desired data, and descriptive and inferential statistical analyses for analyzing the variables, were conducted. The results indicated that most Yazidis use emotion-focused coping to deal with their stressors, and emotion-focused coping predicted SNS addiction with avoidance coping strategies. The support received from family and friends mediates the role of coping strategies for SNS addiction. The major findings of this inquiry suggest that Yazidi IDP adults’ coping strategies are important in predicting SNS addiction. Therefore, necessary actions to raise awareness and interventions need to be taken. This investigation shares new insights into the Yazidi IDP adults’ coping strategies and addiction to SNSs in the camps in the Kurdistan Region - Iraq (KRI) for both policymakers and stakeholders. Limitations and future research directions are discussed in the article