TY - JOUR
T1 - Observational prospective study of social media, smartphone use and self-harm in a clinical sample of young people
T2 - Study protocol
AU - Bye, Amanda
AU - Carter, Ben
AU - Leightley, Daniel
AU - Trevillion, Kylee
AU - Liakata, Maria
AU - Branthonne-Foster, Stella
AU - Williamson, Grace
AU - Zenasni, Zohra
AU - Dutta, Rina
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper represents independent research supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Medical Research Foundation (MRF) (grant number MR/S020365/1). This research was also part supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. RD was also funded by a Clinician Scientist Fellowship from the Health Foundation in partnership with the Academy of Medical Sciences and her work is supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust and King’s College London. BC is also supported by the Nuffield Trust. ML is also supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant number EP/V030302/1) and The Alan Turing Institute (grant number EP/N510129/1). DL is also supported by the Forces in Mind Trust (Project number: FIMT/0323KCL), a funding scheme run by the Forces in Mind Trust using an endowment awarded by the National Lottery Community Fund. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the MRC, the MRF, the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2023/2/1
Y1 - 2023/2/1
N2 - Introduction Young people are the most frequent users of social media and smartphones and there has been an increasing speculation about the potential negative impacts of their use on mental health. This has coincided with a sharp increase in the levels of self-harm in young people. To date, studies researching this potential association are predominantly cross-sectional and reliant on self-report data, which precludes the ability to objectively analyse behaviour over time. This study is one of the first attempts to explore temporal patterns of real-world usage prior to self-harm, to identify whether there are usage patterns associated with an increased risk. Methods and analysis To study the mechanisms by which social media and smartphone use underpin self-harm in a clinical sample of young people, the Social media, Smartphone use and Self-harm in Young People (3S-YP) study uses a prospective, observational study design. Up to 600 young people aged 13-25 years old from secondary mental health services will be recruited and followed for up to 6 months. Primary analysis will compare real-world data in the 7 days leading up to a participant or clinician recorded self-harm episode, to categorise patterns of problematic usage. Secondary analyses will explore potential mediating effects of anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, loneliness and bullying. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the National Research Ethics Service, London - Riverside, as well as by the Joint Research and Development Office of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), and the SLaM Clinical Research Interactive Search (CRIS) Oversight Committee. The findings from this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed scientific journals, conferences, websites, social media and stakeholder engagement activities. Trial registration number NCT04601220.
AB - Introduction Young people are the most frequent users of social media and smartphones and there has been an increasing speculation about the potential negative impacts of their use on mental health. This has coincided with a sharp increase in the levels of self-harm in young people. To date, studies researching this potential association are predominantly cross-sectional and reliant on self-report data, which precludes the ability to objectively analyse behaviour over time. This study is one of the first attempts to explore temporal patterns of real-world usage prior to self-harm, to identify whether there are usage patterns associated with an increased risk. Methods and analysis To study the mechanisms by which social media and smartphone use underpin self-harm in a clinical sample of young people, the Social media, Smartphone use and Self-harm in Young People (3S-YP) study uses a prospective, observational study design. Up to 600 young people aged 13-25 years old from secondary mental health services will be recruited and followed for up to 6 months. Primary analysis will compare real-world data in the 7 days leading up to a participant or clinician recorded self-harm episode, to categorise patterns of problematic usage. Secondary analyses will explore potential mediating effects of anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, loneliness and bullying. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the National Research Ethics Service, London - Riverside, as well as by the Joint Research and Development Office of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), and the SLaM Clinical Research Interactive Search (CRIS) Oversight Committee. The findings from this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed scientific journals, conferences, websites, social media and stakeholder engagement activities. Trial registration number NCT04601220.
KW - Child & adolescent psychiatry
KW - MENTAL HEALTH
KW - QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
KW - STATISTICS & RESEARCH METHODS
KW - Suicide & self-harm
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146972952&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069748
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069748
M3 - Article
C2 - 36725102
AN - SCOPUS:85146972952
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 13
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 2
M1 - e069748
ER -
