PEARL wants to better understand students’ perceptions of social media, ADHD, and the healthcare system.
The Promoting Equitable, Affirming Relationships Lab (PEARL) is recruiting UBC students for their research study TikTok/ADHD Relationship Over Time.
About the study
This study explores how ADHD-related social media content consumption influences young adults’ perceptions of ADHD, treatment intentions, and trust in mental health professionals.Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions for one week: (1) social media abstinence, (2) ADHD psychoeducation, (3) ADHD-related video-watching, or (4) a control group.
Purpose of the study
Objectives: We will evaluate the approaches of (1) abstaining from social media versus (2) receiving ADHD psychoeducation and information from researchers versus (3) watching popular TikToks about ADHD versus (4) control on the outcome variable of young adults’ perceptions of ADHD, treatment intention, and trust in mental health professionals.
Hypotheses: We predict that symptom severity, distress, and catastrophizing will decrease in both the psychoeducation and abstinence groups. Additionally, the psychoeducation group will show greater ADHD knowledge and more positive attitudes towards the healthcare system. Finally, the video-watching group will view ADHD-TikTok videos more favourably. We do not expect a significant difference in ADHD content consumption between the psychoeducation and video-watching groups.
Eligibility
This study is for students who suspect they may have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or who have an ADHD diagnosis, and who use social media regularly.
Eligibility requirements:
- Can read and write in English
- Ages between 17 and 25
- Reports that they have a formal diagnosis of ADHD or a self-diagnosis of ADHD
- Is a UBC student
If you’re interested, please complete a brief eligibility screening:
What’s involved
The study has two parts, both completed online. In Part A (which takes about one hour), you’ll complete questionnaires about your social media use, ADHD symptoms, and beliefs about mental health services. You’ll then be randomly assigned to one of four conditions for one week. Depending on the condition, you may receive short daily videos about ADHD, be sent popular ADHD-related TikToks, be asked to abstain from social media, or be asked to continue your usual habits. One week later, you’ll complete Part B (which also takes about one hour and takes place online), which is a follow-up questionnaire.
Compensation
You can receive $5 for Part A and $10 for Part B, for a total of up to $15.
Contact
Principal Investigator: Amori Yee Mikami, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
Contact
Co-investigator: Vasileia Karasavva, MA
PhD Student, Department of Psychology
Contact
The study has been approved by BREB (H25-00301).