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Afghan migrants are at an increased risk of mental disorders due to various political, economic and security-associated stressors. COVID-19 has brought extra concerns for this group of migrants around the world. Few studies have examined how the perception of the host society and perceived stress are associated with the mental health of migrants during the COVD-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine the role of perceived justice, freedom and the burden of COVID-19 on experienced stress and depression among Afghan migrants in Iran.

N = 497 participants representing the Afghan migrant community between 15 and 80 years old participated in the study. The target population was recruited from Afghan migrants residing in Kerman city in Iran, the capital of one of the provinces with the highest number of Afghan migrants in Iran. The participants answered questions on depression, positive mental health and a series of stressors such as perceived justice, freedom and the burden of COVID-19. Data was collected in November and December 2021 during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

The authors found a significant effect of the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants’ perceived stress and depression. On the other hand, perceptions of justice and freedom in the host country can significantly reduce stress and depression. The results show that stress mediates the effect of justice, freedom and the burden of COVID-19 on depression. In addition, positive mental health moderates the impact of stress on depression.

The current study is one of the pioneering studies that examines the determinants of Afghan migrants’ mental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

This research aims to investigate the impact of missing visual information on tourists’ decision-making processes and visit intention. Drawing on perception completion law and signaling theory, the study hypothesized that tourists might use visual information to infer about a destination, even if the information is incomplete or ambiguous.

To assess the impact of missing visual information, the authors asked a group of 392 participants who had no prior familiarity with a specific garden museum to envision the interior environment of the museum garden and provide feedback on their emotional responses and aesthetic evaluations. To aid in their imagination, they were presented with a video showcasing the surrounding landscape and exterior of the museum.

The study found that participants could anticipate their overall experience of the location by inferring the resemblance of unseen areas to the images they had viewed, even without prior exposure or information. This study provides valuable insights into the cognitive processes underlying tourism decision-making and advances our understanding of how people form expectations of new and unfamiliar places.

The originality of this research relies on the mediating role of missing aesthetics and emotion on the relationship between available aesthetics and visit intention using a structural model. This study highlights the significant role of visual information in influencing tourist decision-making, even with incomplete or ambiguous data.