Eating Disorders and Social Media Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Exploration of Pro-Recovery Social Media use and its effects on Self-Efficacy and Wellbeing in those with Eating Disorders
IRAS ID
282466
Contact name
Sarah Rakovshik
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford, Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Social media use is common amongst the young adult population. On Instagram, there are accounts which support and promote disordered eating and there is much research on the negative effects of these sites. However, pro-recovery accounts also exist, which aim to support the recovery of those with eating disorders. Much less research has been done on the effects of these accounts. From other studies on online social support groups and recovery stories, it has been shown that there can be benefits to viewing these sites, such as in increasing self-efficacy (self-efficacy is someone’s own view of what they can achieve themselves). This study aims to discover how viewing these pro-recovery accounts may influence the psychological wellbeing of participants suffering from eating disorders.
In the study, we will measure the effect of pro-recovery social media on self-efficacy. Two dummy Instagram ‘accounts’ have been created. One is a pro-recovery account and the other is a control account that is not focussed on recovery from an eating disorder. Measures of self-efficacy will be taken at the start of the experiment, after which participants will be exposed to either the pro-recovery or control Instagram account. Measures of self-efficacy will be taken again after this to determine whether viewing pro-recovery accounts has an effect on self-efficacy.
We predict that self-efficacy will increase after viewing the pro-recovery Instagram account as compared to those viewing a control account for the same amount of time.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0898
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion