Gu Lei, Gao Xia
Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
The Engineering & Technical College of Chengdu University of Technology, Leshan, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jun 10;13:1558197. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1558197. eCollection 2025.
Social media plays an increasingly influential role in shaping mental health communication. However, individual expressions related to self-presentation, particularly among people with depression, remain relatively understudied. This study aims to examine how individuals with depression construct and present their identities on Xiaohongshu (RED), a prominent Chinese social media platform.
We employed semantic network analysis and content analysis to investigate depression-related self-presentation narratives on Xiaohongshu. User posts were systematically analyzed to identify key themes and patterns in identity construction.
Three primary themes driving self-presentation narratives were identified: Mental Health & Treatment, Life Stress & Emotion Management, and Self-awareness & Emotional Experience. These themes are intertwined with experiences of stigma and personal challenges, fostering a narrative shift toward optimism and resilience. This shift supports the formation of three distinct identity types: the Depressed Self, the Optimistic Self, and the Resilient Self. Cognitive biases such as negative filtering, overgeneralization, and catastrophizing were found to influence identity formation.
The findings reveal the complex interplay between thematic narratives, cognitive biases, and stigma in online self-presentation among individuals with depression. The study highlights the pivotal role of social media in redefining mental health narratives and shaping online identity construction.
社交媒体在塑造心理健康交流方面发挥着越来越大的影响力。然而，与自我呈现相关的个人表达，尤其是在抑郁症患者中，仍相对缺乏研究。本研究旨在探讨抑郁症患者如何在中国著名社交媒体平台小红书上构建和呈现自己的身份。
我们采用语义网络分析和内容分析方法，对小红书上与抑郁症相关的自我呈现叙事进行调查。对用户帖子进行系统分析，以确定身份构建中的关键主题和模式。
确定了驱动自我呈现叙事的三个主要主题：心理健康与治疗、生活压力与情绪管理、自我认知与情感体验。这些主题与污名化经历和个人挑战相互交织，促使叙事向乐观和恢复力转变。这种转变支持了三种不同身份类型的形成：抑郁的自我、乐观的自我和有恢复力的自我。研究发现，诸如消极过滤、过度概括和灾难化等认知偏差会影响身份形成。
研究结果揭示了抑郁症患者在线自我呈现中主题叙事、认知偏差和污名化之间的复杂相互作用。该研究强调了社交媒体在重新定义心理健康叙事和塑造在线身份构建方面的关键作用。
