Mediation of cognitive interference on depression during the Russo-Ukrainian war in three national samples

Abstract

Media coverage of large-scale violence can result in interfering thoughts and depression. This research investigates the relationship between interfering thoughts and depression when watching the Russo-Ukrainian war. In the theoretical model, the more the war is watched, the more it is related to interfering thoughts, which are related to depression. With the ongoing pandemic, depression, when watching the war, was related to coronavirus threat. Data was collected online from April to June, 2022, with university students in Germany, Finland, and Canada ( N = 865). Path analysis results in each sample showed that the model fit the data with sample-specific modification indices. There was full mediation of watching the war by interference on depression, indicating that it is not watching the war, per se, but rather its relationship to cognitive interference, that is associated with depression. Denial and coronavirus threat were positively related to depression. Implications for research and student support are considered.