Researchers have found that people experiencing Nietzschean angst tend to cling to austere ethical codes, in the hopes of reorienting themselves.

That quote is from this Slate article - the article is mostly about social stigma surrounding mental illness.

The quote is plausible, in an untrustworthy common-sense kind of way. It also seems to align with my internal perspective of my moral life. Does anyone know if it is actually true? What research is out there?

EDIT: In case it isn't clear, I'm asking if anyone knows anything about the (uncited) research mentioned in the quote. My intuition leans towards the quote being right. But I don't know if I should trust that intuition, since intuitions are often unreliable and I have many reasons to distrust my intuitions specifically. So I'm looking for some amount of external verification.