Does Acceptance Aid Mental Health? A National Survey Following the 2023 Turkey‐Syria Earthquake

TL;DR

This study explores how acceptance affects mental health after the Turkey-Syria earthquake, finding that it may not always be beneficial.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into how acceptance interacts with cognitive integration in influencing mental health outcomes after a disaster.

Findings

High acceptance was linked to increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

The negative effects of acceptance were stronger when individuals reported low life significance after the disaster.

Abstract

Natural disasters threaten population mental health. Acceptance, denoting recognition and assent of the finality of a situation, is a coping strategy that has been recommended following major disasters. This study investigates this topic for which existing findings are mixed. A survey was administered among a population‐representative Turkish national sample (N = 7585) recruited through the internet panel of TGM Research (September–October 2023). We examined how acceptance and its interaction with cognitive integration (i.e., finding sense in a stressful event and finding significance in life after the event) were associated with common psychiatric symptoms. Respondents with high acceptance showed higher symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD. These associations were stronger when respondents also reported low perceived significance in life after the event. In the post‐disaster phase, the adaptiveness of acceptance could interplay with other factors, such as how much an individual finds significance in life following the disaster.