The Role of Health Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in the Association Between Need for Closure and COVID-19-Related Stigmatization

Throughout history, stigmatization of certain groups and regions has been observed as an accompanying phenomenon to the outbreaks. Similarly, health care workers, patients, and Chinese individuals have been the target of stigmatization during the COVID-19 outbreak. The previous studies indicated that individuals with high need for cognitive closure (NFC) were more likely to engage in stigmatization. However, studies paid less attention to the intraindividual factors contributing to this relationship. The present study aimed to investigate the association between the NFC and COVID-19-related stigmatization through the role of health anxiety and emotion regulation difficulties. Five hundred forty-five participants (375 females, 170 males) aged between 18-67 (M = 25.81, SD = 10.57) took part in this study. A set of self-report questionnaires were used measuring cognitive closure, health anxiety, emotion regulation difficulties, and COVID-19 stigmatizing attitudes. A structural equation analysis was conducted to test the indirect association between the NFC and stigmatizing attitudes. The results revealed that the NFC predicted stigmatizing attitudes through increased health anxiety and emotion regulation difficulties. The findings highlighted that stigmatizing may be a maladaptive way of emotion regulation for individuals with high need for closure.