April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Mental Health Influencers: A Uses and Gratifications Approach in an Examination of Instagram
Prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a lack of mental health professionals to meet people’s needs. The coronavirus pandemic increased general anxiety levels and applied further pressures to those suffering from mental health conditions or substance abuse disorders. During that time, social media became a more powerful force for presenting and discussing mental health and wellness information. Our study sought to examine characteristics of content posted by mental health influencers during the pandemic as well as the gratifications received by followers, using a uses and gratifications framework. We sought to determine the characteristics of mental health influencer content on Instagram (RQ1); the extent to which users received various gratifications from mental health influencer content on Instagram (RQ2); and how characteristics of mental health influencer content related to gratifications received by users (RQ3).
We conducted a mixed methods study involving a content analysis of Instagram accounts/posts and a survey of Instagram users following them. The sample for the content analysis consisted of 67 Instagram accounts that posted more than 8 posts between between February and March 2021. A sample of 305 posts were gathered through a systematic random approach from a population of 3,365. The survey sample consisted of 330 participants residing in the U.S. Participants who followed a mental health influencer on Instagram were recruited between March 3 and March 6, 2021 through a nationally-representative Qualtrics Panel. IRB approval was obtained from two universities for all procedures in the current study.
The content analysis included categories for the following mental health topics, including but not limited to anxiety, depression, eating disorder, substance use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts/self-harm and personal relationships. The claims/purpose of content present in posts were also coded, including engagement, testimonial, health promotion, information sharing, and peer support among other categories. Intercoder reliability was acceptable for all coding categories (0.897-1.0). In the survey, five gratifications related to following a mental health influencer on Instagram were measured (5-point scale from never to always).
In answer to RQ1, a majority of mental health influencers’ content focused on general mental health and wellness (n=265, 87.10%), followed by personal relationships (n=115, 38%). In answer to RQ2, gratifications received were highest for emotional regulation (M=3.95, SD=0.95, Cronbach’s ⍺= 0.880), followed by information seeking (M=3.88, SD=0.97,Cronbach’s ⍺=0.814), self-expression (M=3.84, SD=0.91, Cronbach’s ⍺=0.796), social interaction (M=3.79, SD=0.94, Cronbach’s ⍺=0.839), and surveillance (M=3.79, SD=0.96, Cronbach’s ⍺=0.80). In answer to RQ3, characteristics of mental health influencers’ content best predicted social interaction and surveillance gratifications. Information sharing content was negatively related (p=0.025) to the social interaction gratification. Peer support (p=.01), treatment (p=.003), information sharing (p=.02), and testimonials (p=.03) were significantly related to the surveillance gratification. Information sharing content was significantly related to the information seeking gratification (p=.01) and the social interaction gratification (p=0.025).
Our study contributes to health communication scholarship by using a uses and gratifications to add to understanding of how social media content contributes to gratifications obtained by users, particularly as it relates to mental health.
We conducted a mixed methods study involving a content analysis of Instagram accounts/posts and a survey of Instagram users following them. The sample for the content analysis consisted of 67 Instagram accounts that posted more than 8 posts between between February and March 2021. A sample of 305 posts were gathered through a systematic random approach from a population of 3,365. The survey sample consisted of 330 participants residing in the U.S. Participants who followed a mental health influencer on Instagram were recruited between March 3 and March 6, 2021 through a nationally-representative Qualtrics Panel. IRB approval was obtained from two universities for all procedures in the current study.
The content analysis included categories for the following mental health topics, including but not limited to anxiety, depression, eating disorder, substance use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts/self-harm and personal relationships. The claims/purpose of content present in posts were also coded, including engagement, testimonial, health promotion, information sharing, and peer support among other categories. Intercoder reliability was acceptable for all coding categories (0.897-1.0). In the survey, five gratifications related to following a mental health influencer on Instagram were measured (5-point scale from never to always).
In answer to RQ1, a majority of mental health influencers’ content focused on general mental health and wellness (n=265, 87.10%), followed by personal relationships (n=115, 38%). In answer to RQ2, gratifications received were highest for emotional regulation (M=3.95, SD=0.95, Cronbach’s ⍺= 0.880), followed by information seeking (M=3.88, SD=0.97,Cronbach’s ⍺=0.814), self-expression (M=3.84, SD=0.91, Cronbach’s ⍺=0.796), social interaction (M=3.79, SD=0.94, Cronbach’s ⍺=0.839), and surveillance (M=3.79, SD=0.96, Cronbach’s ⍺=0.80). In answer to RQ3, characteristics of mental health influencers’ content best predicted social interaction and surveillance gratifications. Information sharing content was negatively related (p=0.025) to the social interaction gratification. Peer support (p=.01), treatment (p=.003), information sharing (p=.02), and testimonials (p=.03) were significantly related to the surveillance gratification. Information sharing content was significantly related to the information seeking gratification (p=.01) and the social interaction gratification (p=0.025).
Our study contributes to health communication scholarship by using a uses and gratifications to add to understanding of how social media content contributes to gratifications obtained by users, particularly as it relates to mental health.