From Death Distress to Flourishing Amid the Ongoing Türkiye Earthquakes: Future Anxiety, Post-traumatic Growth, and Trauma-Related Meaning Making

This study investigated the psychological processes linking death distress to flourishing within the context of an ongoing earthquake threat. Guided by Terror Management Theory and the Meaning-Making Model, a moderated serial mediation model (PROCESS Model 92) was tested in which death distress predicted flourishing through future anxiety and post-traumatic growth (PTG), with trauma-related meaning-making (TRMM) moderating the pathway future anxiety to PTG. Data were collected from 494 adults residing in a seismically active region. Results showed that death distress directly and negatively predicted flourishing. Future anxiety and PTG functioned as significant mediators, forming a serial indirect pathway. TRMM significantly moderated the association between future anxiety and PTG, weaking the detrimental effect of anxiety and facilitating growth at higher levels of meaning-making. These findings suggest that mortality-related distress may, under specific cognitive conditions, contribute to transformative psychological outcomes rather than solely to maladjustment.