Abstract
This dissertation explores the relationship between personality traits, anxiety, and social media addiction in adolescent females, with the goal of developing a low-cost screening tool for early identification. It integrates psychological theory (Maslow, Erikson, Gilligan, Vygotsky) with media theory (McLuhan, Postman) and postmodernist critiques by Guy DeBord and Jean Baudrillard. DeBord’s society of the spectacle and Baudrillard’s hyperreality offer a lens through which digital engagement is seen not as a supplement to real life, but as a simulation that can displace authentic connection—heightening anxiety and dependency on virtual validation.
The dissertation also touches on Breland’s concept of instinctive drift as a possible explanation for how conditioned behaviors like “doomscrolling” devolve into maladaptive habits, while instinctive needs for love and connection remain unmet, feeding anxiety loops and compulsive digital engagement. Socio-cultural shifts such as rising divorce rates and increasing digital mediation of relationships since the 1980s are also examined.
Fifty-eight female high school students (ages 14–18) from Minnesota completed the NEO-FFI-3, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Students using social media over two hours per day showed significantly higher anxiety (p = .008). Extraversion was the strongest predictor of social media addiction (p = .003); low Conscientiousness, low Agreeableness, and Trait Anxiety also contributed (p < .05).
Findings support the use of validated psychological tools as low-cost screening instruments in school settings. The study contributes to adolescent psychology by incorporating postmodern frameworks to explain how digitally mediated identities and interactions may amplify mental health risks.
Date Dissertation Completed
4-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education
Department
Education Studies
Dissertation Advisor
Dawnette Cigrand, Ph.D.
Dissertation Committee Members
Karen Cathey-Austen, Ph.D., James Schul, Ph.D.
Location
Winona, Minnesota
Recommended Citation
Cristadoro, Kevin, "Identifying Personality Factors of Female Adolescents Most Susceptible to Anxiety and Addiction to Social Media" (2025). Education Doctorate Dissertations. 23.
https://openriver.winona.edu/educationedddissertations/23
