An initial grounded theory of how young people with mental health problems experience and are affected by fictional representation

Young people with mental health problems (MHPs) are increasingly exposed to representations of MHPs within fiction, but little is known about this process. This study used grounded theory to develop a preliminary understanding of how 16- to 25-year-olds with MHPs experience and are affected by fictional media representation of MHPs. Fourteen individual interviews were conducted with nine young people. The developed theory suggests that fiction was experienced as a reflection on participants’ own reality, a process made up of two key stages, identification with fiction and transferring beyond fiction, whereby the representative portrayals led to both helpful and harmful impacts. Such effects seemed to depend on both personal context and the nature of the fiction. Findings are discussed in terms of relevant theory and outcomes for wellbeing, with study limitations and implications for practise and research considered.