Psychological impact of the February 6, 2023, Türkiye earthquake: the roles of social support, hope, resilience, and death obsession

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Catastrophic events, such as epidemics and natural disasters, can dramatically affect the mental health of individuals, making it crucial to investigate the psychological effects of these events. This study aims to explore the associations between social support, death obsession, hope, and resilience among individuals affected by the February 6, 2023, earthquake in Türkiye, one of the most catastrophic earthquakes of this century. A total of 470 Turkish adults participated in the research. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the mediating roles of hope and resilience in the relationship between social support and death obsession. The model revealed that resilience and hope serially fully mediated the relationship between social support and death obsession in earthquake-affected individuals ( χ 2 (57, N = 470) = 131.702, p < 0.001; RFI = 0.92; NFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.95; IFI = 0.97; GFI = 0.96; CFI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.053; SRMR = 0.066). These findings contribute to our comprehension of the interplay between social support, death obsession, hope, and resilience in the context of earthquakes and are expected to inform future research in this area.