eprintid: 36205 rev_number: 26 userid: 8534 dir: disk0/00/03/62/05 datestamp: 2019-06-26 17:50:37 lastmod: 2019-06-26 17:50:37 status_changed: 2019-06-26 17:50:37 type: thesis_degree metadata_visibility: show contact_email: candicebiernesser@gmail.com eprint_status: archive creators_name: Biernesser, Candice creators_email: cll76@pitt.edu creators_id: cll76 title: Social media and adolescent suicide: exploring risks, benefits, and opportunities for prevention ispublished: unpub divisions: sch_gsph_behavioralcommhealthsci full_text_status: restricted keywords: Adolescent, suicide, social media abstract: During the same time period that suicide rose to the 2nd leading cause of death among adolescents, the proportion of youth who use social media multiple times per day has doubled, and now encompasses 70% of US adolescents. These are concerning trends, because maladaptive use of social media is associated with adverse mental health effects with particularly concerning ramifications for adolescent suicidal risk. While this linkage to suicidal risk remains evident, adolescents report notable benefits to use of social media, including the provision of social support and connectedness. This dissertation focuses on three critical gaps in the literature aimed to explore the association between adolescent suicidal risk and social media use. First, since the most recently conducted systematic reviews on this topic ended their searches, the literature is estimated to have doubled in size. To address this gap, the first paper presents the results of a literature review which provides an update of social media-related risk and protective factors for adolescent suicide through May 20th, 2018. Second, effective methods to monitor at-risk adolescents’ use of social media are needed. The dissertation paper offers the results from a formative study that aims to develop an acceptable approach to social media monitoring for suicidal youth. The results of a mixed methods study are presented that explore the social media experiences of suicidal adolescents and their parents. Third, longitudinal studies evaluating the relationship between adolescent suicide and social media use have measured a limited scope of risk and protective factors and have focused on youth within the general population. The third paper presents the iterative development of an ecological momentary assessment tool that aims to measure a range of risk and protective factors for adolescent suicide associated with distressing social media experiences. This dissertation offers public health significance through formative investigation aimed to expand our understanding of social media’s influence on youth suicidal risk and explore avenues for prevention. It does so through a current evaluation of the literature, a measure that could provide insights on proximal suicidal risk, and suggestions for an acceptable monitoring approach for youth at risk of suicide. date: 2019-06-26 date_type: published pages: 175 institution: University of Pittsburgh refereed: TRUE etdcommittee_type: committee_chair etdcommittee_type: committee_member etdcommittee_type: committee_member etdcommittee_type: committee_chair etdcommittee_name: Trauth, Jeanette etdcommittee_name: Todd, Bear etdcommittee_name: David, Brent etdcommittee_name: Christina, Mair etdcommittee_email: trauth@pitt.edu etdcommittee_email: tobst2@pitt.edu etdcommittee_email: brent@pitt.edu etdcommittee_email: cmair@pitt.edu etdcommittee_id: trauth etdcommittee_id: tobst2 etdcommittee_id: brent etdcommittee_id: cmair etd_defense_date: 2019-04-05 etd_approval_date: 2019-06-26 etd_submission_date: 2019-04-02 etd_release_date: 2019-06-26 etd_access_restriction: 3_year etd_patent_pending: FALSE thesis_type: dissertation degree: PhD citation: Biernesser, Candice (2019) Social media and adolescent suicide: exploring risks, benefits, and opportunities for prevention. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished) document_url: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/36205/1/BiernesserCandice_Dissertation_April_2019.pdf