Exploring constructs of anxiety through social media, meaning making and measurement.

Ovens, Amber Paloma (2025) Exploring constructs of anxiety through social media, meaning making and measurement. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

Preview

PDF Download (11MB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: Anxiety disorders affect many people across the lifespan and around the world, and are thought to be pervasive conditions, therefore, furthering our understanding and measurement of them is vital.

Aims: This thesis sought to explore the constructs of anxiety, firstly by evaluating the psychometric properties of a social anxiety measure, and secondly by investigating the conceptualisations of anxiety disorders through online discourses.

Methods: A Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) systematic review was conducted across six databases to synthesis the psychometric evidence for the Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN). Additionally, a social constructionist qualitative study using a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MMCDA) was conducted to explore anxiety discourses under two hashtags on TikTok.

Results: The systematic review identified eight versions of the Mini-SPIN and found limitations in their development and internal structure, which had subsequent implications on recommendations. The empirical study identified five discursive themes from videos under #anxiety and three discursive themes from videos under #social anxiety. The empirical study also applied a critical Marxist perspective to the analysis to understand various power relations.

Conclusions: This thesis portfolio found that the Mini-SPIN and its versions did not meet COSMIN standards due to limitations in development, therefore, we caution against their use until further research has been conducted. Moreover, this thesis provided critical insight into the role of TikTok in the construction of anxiety, suggesting continued dissemination of dominant medical ideologies, neoliberalism and possible commodification of anxiety.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Nicola Veasy
Date Deposited:	27 Oct 2025 14:27
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2025 14:27
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100786
DOI:

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item