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JOURNAL OF PSICOPATHOLOGY

Summary

Summary

Background and Objectives: Social media, particularly TikTok, plays a pivotal role in shaping perceptions of feeding and eating disorders (FEDs). While it offers recovery-oriented content, it also exposes users to harmful narratives that may normalize disordered eating patterns. Understanding how FED-related content engages users is crucial for informing digital health strategies and content moderation policies. This exploratory study aimed to explore the impact of TikTok short videos on FED-related discourse, analysing how different content types of influence user engagement and whether recovery-focused messages generate higher interaction than weight-loss or pro-anorexia (pro-ana) content.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted, involving three independent researchers who analysed 202 TikTok videos collected via 13 predefined FED-related hashtags. Videos were classified based on thematic content (pro-recovery, pro-ana, anti-pro-ana, or neutral) and emotional appeal, while engagement metrics (views, likes, comments, shares, saves) were statistically analysed.

Results: Recovery-focused videos were the most prevalent and received significantly higher engagement than weight-loss content (p = .003). Emotional expression was positively correlated with increased user interaction (p = .007). Additionally, creators with larger follower bases achieved greater engagement (p < .001). No significant difference was found between pro-ana and pro-recovery content.

Conclusion: Our results underscore TikTok’s ambivalent role in FED discourse: while it amplifies recovery-oriented narratives, harmful content persists. Strengthening content moderation and digital health strategies is crucial to foster safer online spaces for vulnerable users.

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Authors

Erika De Marco - Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy

Giorgia Polizzotto - Dipartimento di scienze biomediche, metaboliche e neuroscienze - Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Sara Catellani - Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Via Amendola 2, Reggio Emilia (42027), Italy. Dipartimento ad Attività Integrata Salute Mentale – Dipendenze Patologiche, Azienda USL, IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Italy

Lorenzo Bassi - Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy

Stefania Traina - Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy

Mattia Marchi - Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Via Amendola 2, Reggio Emilia (42027), Italy. Dipartimento ad Attività Integrata Salute Mentale – Dipendenze Patologiche, Azienda USL, IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Italy

Gian Maria Galeazzi - Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Via Amendola 2, Reggio Emilia (42027), Italy. Dipartimento ad Attività Integrata Salute Mentale – Dipendenze Patologiche, Azienda USL, IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Italy

Luca Pingani - Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Via Amendola 2, Reggio Emilia (42027), Italy. Dipartimento ad Attività Integrata Salute Mentale – Dipendenze Patologiche, Azienda USL, IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Italy

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright

Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Psychopathology

How to Cite
[1]
De Marco, E. , Polizzotto, G., Catellani, S., Bassi, L., Traina, S., Marchi, M., Galeazzi, G.M. and Pingani, L. 2026. Scrolling to heal or hurt? TikTok’s impact on eating disorders. Journal of Psychopathology. 32, 2 (Jun. 2026). DOI:https://doi.org/10.36148/2284-0249-1582.
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