The impact of psychological disorder representation and diagnosis source on symptom perception, help­-seeking intentions, social connection on social media

Abstract

Social media, and in particular TikTok, are becoming increasingly powerful and influential, with an increase in mental health-related content generated by expert and non-expert users. This study focuses on how the representation of a psychological disorder (as a health condition or illness) and the explicit source of the diagnosis (self-diagnosis and professional diagnosis) influence users' perceptions and behaviour. Seven dependent variables were measured: perceived severity of symptoms, perceived negative impact of symptoms in daily life, perceived stability of symptoms, intention to seek help (professional and non-professional), proximity to the influencer, perception of the disorder as a social condition and identification with symptoms. To answer the research question, a survey was conducted. The results show that the representation and source of the diagnosis influence the perception of symptom severity and the intention to seek help. Furthermore, when the disorder is represented as a health condition, the attribution of the diagnosis influences the perception of the disorder as a social condition and the stability of the symptoms.

Date of Award	11 Feb 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Sofia Jacinto (Supervisor)