Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

LINNEA MAVRIDES, PSY.D.

Second Advisor

EVA FEINDLER, PHD

Third Advisor

ALEXIS CONASON, PSY.D.

Abstract

Social media use is more widespread than ever, with over 800 million monthly active users on Instagram alone (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). The literature suggests an association between social media usage and mental health issues, specifically that it increases body image concerns, body comparisons, and disordered eating (Saunders & Eaton, 2018; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013). While multiple studies have investigated the type of content present and individuals’ experiences within pro-eating disorder (ED) communities, few studies to date have examined Instagram’s (IG) ED recovery communities. The aim of the current study was to explore the interplay between individuals’ ED recovery and their recovery-based IG accounts. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals who have recovery-based IG accounts. These interviews were coded and analyzed using the Auerbach and Silverstein (2003) method and yielded the following constructs: SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY; SELF-PRESENTATION THEORY/IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT; POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE COMMUNITY; NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE COMMUNITY; MIXED EXPERIENCES AND UNPREDICTABILITY; VULNERABILITY; ACCOUNT CHANGES AS RECOVERY PROGRESSES; and EXPERIENCE MIRRORS THE CURRENT CLIMATE AND STEREOTYPES. This study provides groundwork in understanding how people use their IG ED-recovery accounts, how the accounts impact their identities, and the ways in which exposure to others’ IG ED recovery accounts may affect their recovery. This knowledge has implications for both treatment providers and individuals with EDs, as it may inform how helpful and/or harmful IG recovery accounts are in relation to recovery.

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