Negative emotional responses to media are associated with lower psychological wellbeing among adults in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Introduction In conflict-affected societies, media may provide information and social connection while also exposing individuals to emotionally distressing content. Objective To examine whether dominant emotional response valence and total daily media-use duration were independently associated with psychological well-being among adults in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Methods In this cross-sectional study, trained interviewers administered a structured questionnaire to a convenience sample of 239 Kurdish adults recruited across multiple cities. Participants reported media-use patterns and their single dominant emotional response to media and completed the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. The primary multiple linear regression adjusted for age, gender, education, employment status, and preferred media content. Results The sample reported low average well-being (mean WHO-5 raw score = 10.96, SD = 3.97, on a 0–25 scale); 64.0% scored below the conventional screening cutoff of 13. In the primary adjusted model, reporting a dominant negative emotional response (sadness, anger, fear, or pessimism) was associated with a 2.17-point lower WHO-5 score than reporting optimism or indifference (95% CI [− 3.31, − 1.03]). Total daily media-use duration was not independently associated with WHO-5 scores. Conclusion In this conflict-affected context, lower psychological well-being was associated with negative emotional responses to media whereas total media-use duration was not independently associated with well-being. However, the cross-sectional design cannot establish whether media-related emotion preceded lower well-being or instead reflected prior mood, personality, content selection, or recall. Longitudinal and experience-sampling studies using validated measures of media content and affect are needed.