Abstract

This critical discourse analysis was conducted to determine how if the language used in the depictions of mental illness (specifically anxiety) in two young adult (YA) fiction texts is accurate in alignment with the diagnostic criteria of anxiety disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Ed., DSM-5). This study analyzes the YA novels You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman (2019) and Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall (2016). Further, this study explored how the depictions of the protagonists in these two realistic YA fiction novels provide authentic behaviors about anxiety disorders. This study determined that You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman (2019) and Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall (2016) are in alignment with the diagnostic criteria provided in the DSM-5. Further, it determined that the depictions in these novels provide authentic behaviors about anxiety disorders through their capacity to provide readers with a safe space to explore the impact of anxiety on the protagonists' experiences, behaviors, identities, and social relationships. This study is significant in that it provides an analysis of two YA novel to determine if the depictions of anxiety disorders that are being provided to readers are accurate and that they align to the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2022

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Olan, Elsie

Degree

Master of Education (M.Ed.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

School of Teacher Education

Degree Program

Secondary Education; English Language Arts Education

Identifier

CFE0009263; DP0026867

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026867

Language

English

Release Date

August 2025

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Campus-only Access)

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