An exploration of relationships between social media use and quality of life of adults diagnosed with borderline personality disorder

Abstract

This thesis was interdisciplinary in nature and explored the relationships between social media use and quality of life for adults who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate how social media use might impact the lives of this sample. Initially I queried if social media use may cause a potential for dysregulation, validation, or some combination of both. A survey that consisted of twenty-four-questions regarding quality of life as well as social media use was created and distributed online to a convenience sample of Canadian adults who self-reported as having borderline personality disorder. There does appear to be some evidence that social media use impacted the moods of those in the sample, but due to the small sample size obtained (N = 31) this study did not yield significant results but rather is exploratory. My recommendation moving forward is that additional extensive research is required with the intent to create a more robust set of data regarding this population and social media use. It is important for the safety of our clients to learn more about how social media use can potentially impact their lives and emotional states. This will enable clinicians to meet the clients where they are at in terms of the struggles of their daily lives and ensure that clients are receiving the best and most up-to-date care. More insight and knowledge about possible relationships may yield potential to revise existing resources and/or create new resources for the population, such as support groups and classes to help clients focus on healthy and positive social media use.