Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences
First Advisor
Erin Holmes
Second Advisor
Sujith Ramachandran
Third Advisor
John Bentley
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Background: There is an increased prevalence of adult Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and stimulant prescription use in the United States, especially when compared to years prior to 2020. Due to accessibility and popularity of ADHD on social media, many individuals gain information on ADHD from these sources. People may view information on social media as credible due to its ability to provide connection, community, and empowerment. However, content analyses of ADHD information on social media show the quality of content on social media is poor. These content analyses utilized outdated quality evaluation tools that are not specific for social media. Principles of Health-Related Information on Social Media (PRHISM) was developed to address this gap but requires further validity and reliability evidence. It has been suggested that individuals who are subject to low quality ADHD videos on social media and assign credibility to these sources, seek non-traditional care (i.e., ADHD specific telehealth companies such as Cerebral). Some non-traditional care options have reported dangerous un-regulated practices such as over-prescribing stimulant therapy.
Study Aims: 1) Evaluate the psychometric properties of PRHISM, 2) Evaluate the quality and characteristics of ADHD social media content, 3) Identify the characteristics of low- and high- quality ADHD social media videos, 4) Identify the relationship between perceived credibility of ADHD social media and help-seeking intentions for ADHD symptoms, 5) Identify the relationship between perceived credibility of ADHD social media and intentions of seeking different types of help for ADHD symptoms.
Methods: 1) A cross-sectional reliability and validity study of the PRHISM instrument utilizing 55 Instagram Reels and 53 TikToks under the #adhd; 2) content analysis of ADHD social media utilizing PRHISM and the Message Sensational Value scale to measure quality and content features, along with identifying the Types of ADHD videos, the Source of the videos, presence of humor and advertisements; 3) a cross-sectional survey utilizing structural equation modeling to perform a multivariable linear regression analysis of Source Credibility and Message Credibility of low-quality ADHD social media on ADHD help-seeking intentions and to perform a multivariate linear regression of the same independent variables on the different types of ADHD help-seeking.
Results: The results of the evaluation of PRHISM showed that the instrument had some convergent validity and poor interrater reliability. The content analysis of ADHD social media found that most of the videos were related to signs and symptoms of ADHD and the expertise of the sources were unclear. The message sensational value of the videos were surprisingly low. The majority of videos did not provide referrals to additional information or sources, nor did they support seeking professional medical help. Only approximately 14% of the videos were poor quality; however, these poor-quality videos had the highest average numbers of likes and shares. Lastly, the cross-sectional survey found a statistically significant positive relationship between message credibility of low-quality ADHD social media and help-seeking intentions.
Conclusion: This dissertation provides further evidence for the utility of an instrument to evaluate health information on social media, information on the content of ADHD social media, and how credibility of low-quality ADHD social media relates to help-seeking intentions. To our knowledge this is the first study to identify a link between individuals’ assessment of low-quality health related social media and help-seeking intentions. The results indicate there is a need to further understand the impact of social media on health behaviors.
Recommended Citation
Nasruddin, Saara Zakkiya, "Quality & Credibility ff ADHD Information on Social Media and ADHD Help-Seeking Intentions" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3022.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3022
