COVID-19 information overload: Intolerance of uncertainty moderates the relationship between frequency of internet searching and fear of COVID-19
Open accessAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of uncertainty for people around the world. Research suggests that internet searching resulting in contradictory information can lead to increased levels of distress, particularly for people who have a high intolerance of uncertainty (IU). In the present correlational study, U.S. undergraduate students (N = 317) indicated their IU, the frequency with which they search for COVID-19 related information online, their overall health anxiety, their fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19), and engagement in prevention behaviors. Consistent with previous research, individual differences in IU moderated the relationship between internet searches and FCV-19 such that for people high in IU, more internet searching was associated with greater fear. In turn, we also found that greater FCV-19 predicted more social-distancing behaviors. These findings are important in both future mental health and public health initiatives.
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Individuals with higher IU who frequently searched the internet for COVID-19 information experienced greater fear of the virus; this fear is both a consequence and a driver of IU.
“Research shows that individuals with higher IU who frequently searched the internet for COVID-19 information experienced greater fear of the virus—a fear that is both a consequence and a driver of IU [95].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [95]
The Results (Primary analyses) report that more frequent COVID-19 internet searching was associated with greater fear, particularly among participants high in IU. The Fear of COVID-19 section suggests that fear can both result from and lead to IU, but the citing sentence presents that tentative, bidirectional interpretation as established fact. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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“The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated psychological distress for many, leading to increased reliance on digital platforms (Baerg & Bruchmann, 2022). d) Psychological Traits and Coping Styles: Personality traits, motivational styles, and coping mechanisms have also been implicated in PSMU.”
Cui, M., Huang, Z. H., Guo, M., Yuan, L., Wu, X., Lu, Z., & Wang, Y. (2026) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2026.2689095
“Moreover, searching online for disease-related information may further exacerbate fear (Baerg & Bruchmann, 2022).”
Tang, Y., Liu, C., Lei, P., Zhang, H., Xu, X., Ning, X., Li, J., & Fan, W. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16071171
“Previous studies have suggested that higher neuroticism is associated with more severe obsessive–compulsive symptoms, potentially through intolerance of uncertainty (Baerg & Bruchmann, 2022).”
- Authors
- Baerg, L., & Bruchmann, K.
- Affiliations
- Santa Clara University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Baerg, Lindsay
- ORCID
- Bruchmann, Kathryn
- Venue
- Acta Psychologica
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-04
- Volume
- 224
- Pages
- 103534
- ISSN
- 0001-6918 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8843333
- OpenAlex
- W4213159969
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 11
- FWCI
- 8.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Acta Psychologica (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Scholar Commons (Santa Clara University) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Informationszentrum Lebenswissenschaften (ZB MED) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Santa Clara University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, intolerance of uncertainty, web search, fear of COVID-19, information overload, health anxiety, preventive behavior, social distancing, moderating effect, undergraduate students
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Fear, Humans, Internet, Uncertainty, Pandemics
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