University of Twente Student Theses
Does the use of social media mediate the relationship between bulimia nervosa and orthorexia nervosa in university students?
Wiesmann, Mia (2022) Does the use of social media mediate the relationship between bulimia nervosa and orthorexia nervosa in university students?
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| Abstract: | Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a newly emerging mental health condition concerning the pathological preoccupation with healthy eating. This study aimed to investigate whether the time spent on Social Networking Sites (SNS) mediates the relationship between bulimia nervosa (BN) and ON in university students, thereby gaining new insights into the determinants of ON. 242 students participated in this cross-sectional study. The participants completed an online survey including questions referring to their socio-demographic data and SNS usage, as well as the subscale for BN from the second version of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2) and the Düsseldorf Orthorexia Scale (DOS). A mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS in SPSS as an administrator. The results showed a significant positive correlation between BN and the time spent on SNS as well as a significant positive correlation between symptoms of BN and symptoms of ON. A significant negative correlation was found between the time spent on SNS and ON. Moreover, the indirect mediation effect was significant but negative. The findings confirm the correlation between BN and ON and suggest the existence of a causal relationship between the two conditions. Thus, BN is a possible determinant of the development of ON. Moreover, the time spent on SNS was found to decrease symptoms of ON which showed that SNS usage not necessarily reduces mental health and well-being. Finally, it was concluded that the time spent on SNS partially mediates the relationship between BN and ON in university students. However, the mediation might have been inconsistent. Therefore, additional research is needed to clarify the relationship between the time spent on SNS and ON. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/90895 |
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