"Online Anxiety Disclosures and Student Loan Debt: An Exploratory Phenomenological Study"

Background and Purpose: Anxiety is a common mental health disorder that affects about 40 million Americans annually. Financial stressors, such as student debt, are recognized as significant contributors to anxiety. Research suggests that a growing number of people turn to online platforms to express and seek solutions to their mental health issues. While spending more time on the internet is often associated with poorer mental health outcomes, anonymously sharing personal experiences online and receiving feedback from other internet users can have positive effects on mental health. Understanding how individuals in online anonymous communities cognitively and affectively represent the coexisting issues of anxiety and student debt can inform treatment interventions and program designing for reducing high-risk behaviors. Therefore, this qualitative phenomenological study aims to explore the cognitive and affective representations of individuals co-experiencing anxiety and the burdens of student debt.

Methods: Reddit is a social media platform where users can anonymously discuss and share contents. It prioritizes anonymity and content-driven social credibility, making it unique among social media platforms. Data for this study was obtained from 346 posts regarding anxiety and student loans. Using a mix of in-vivo and initial first-cycle coding methods, 30 original posts were coded, including language from the posts and initial interpretations in Taguette a QDA software. An initial draft codebook was created, and 80 additional posts were coded to confirm saturation. The goal was to ensure no new themes emerged. After coding 110 posts, additional posts were reviewed to confirm theme consistency. This resulted in 243 unique first-cycle codes which were, through team consensus, condensed to 211 codes. These codes were then grouped into 32 second-cycle codes using focused coding methods. Additional collaboration with an independent team member who was not involved with initial coding resulted in 10 themes for further evaluation and analysis.

Results: Findings revealed positive and negative cognitive and affective representations in the posts marked by the co-existing experiences of anxiety and student debt. Cognitive representations manifested in themes such as academic pressures and financial struggles resulting from academic failure, unemployment, and dissatisfaction with jobs and the workplace. Affective representations were observed in posts marked by feelings of self-doubt, fear of an uncertain future, self-harming thoughts, and relationship issues. Positive cognitive and affective themes ranged from resilience through seeking therapy, to receiving validation, and a sense of relief.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate a growing trend among individuals to discuss personal challenges anonymously and seek support within online communities. The desire for validation and belonging, coupled with the search for coping mechanisms, highlights the potential of online platforms as valuable resources for those in need. Leveraging the power of online communities to address longstanding issues of mental health and financial well-being concerns can promote resilience and success for individuals facing common yet stigmatized issues. Understanding online sharing can equip mental health professionals and social workers with valuable insights to effectively help individuals manage complex co-existing issues of anxiety and student debt.