Pitt PRIDE IM

12/12/2023

Check out this new article from University of Pittsburgh researcher Brian Thoma and colleagues.

Read the full article here: https://psychiatry.pitt.edu/jama-network-open-risk-suicidal-behavior-after-psychiatric-hospitalization-among-s*xual-and-gender

They found that LGBTQ+ patients are at higher risk of suicidal behavior in the year following hospitalization compared to cisgender and straight patients. For patients who identified as le***an, gay, bis*xual, or q***r, this risk was related to their risk of suicidal behavior when they began hospitalization. For patients whose gender identity was different from their s*x assigned at birth, this risk was NOT related to their risk of suicidal behavior when they began hospitalization.

This study matches previous research that shows that LGBTQ+ patients are at a higher risk of suicidal behavior. However, the year following psychiatric hospitalization is a vulnerable time for LGBTQ+ patients, especially those who are transgender. Offering validating treatment during hospitalization and connecting patients to supportive resources after hospitalization may lower this risk.

11/03/2023

How do LGBTQ+ young adults get support on social media? How do strategies for getting support differ based on race and ethnicity?

Jacob Gordon and colleagues (including our lab director, Dr. César Escobar-Viera) answered these questions in a new research article, which you can read here: https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e51702/

As part of the study, 52 LGBTQ+ young adults ages 18-30 completed an hour-long online interview. 23% of participants identified as Black, 23% as Hispanic, and 54% as non-Hispanic White.

The researchers discovered that…
• Black and Hispanic participants wanted support from people with shared identities.
• Some Hispanic participants found it easier to be vulnerable with strangers.
• No matter their identity, participants felt more comfortable being themselves on social media when they limited interactions with family.

This research shows that…
• Identity impacts how LGBTQ+ young adults get support on social media.
• Social media gives LGBTQ+ young adults a space where they can control how they express themselves and who they get social support from.

10/16/2023

The Trevor Project recently released the results of their annual survey on the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth.
Read the full report here: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/?c_src=UMCOG241010300&c_src2=dt-20231010-c-WorldMentalHealthDay-V0-mc-5900638d78&utm_medium=getinvolved/advocacy&utm_source=emailsegment-wholefile1&utm_campaign=generaleffort -therapy-by-age
Among the respondents:
- 41% seriously thought about committing su***de.
- 67% reported anxiety symptoms.
- 54% reported depression symptoms.
These rates were highest among people who identified as Native/Indigenous, pans*xual, or transgender men.

Additionally:
- 81% wanted mental health care, but only 44% who wanted it could access it.
- 60% felt that they had been discriminated against due to their LGBTQ+ identity.
- 53% had been verbally harassed at school.

LGBTQ+ youth attempted su***de less if they:
- Had access to supportive in-person and online spaces;
- Had their gender identity affirmed through pronouns, bathrooms, and clothing.

LGBTQ+ youth experience serious mental health issues, and the majority do not get care. We can support the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth by making spaces, both in-person and online, where their identities are recognized and respected and they get live authentically as themselves.

Thank you to the Trevor Project for doing this work. Make sure you check out the full report to see more mental health data for LGBTQ+ youth.

09/20/2023

Our PRIDE iM director, Dr. César Escobar Viera, will be a panelist at this week's Tech and Digital Media Usage on Youth Mental Health panel. This panel is part of the Digital Media and Developing Minds International Scientific Congress taking place in Washington, D.C. We can't wait to hear what insight Dr. Escobar Viera and the other panelists have to offer on this topic!

Here's the conference program link:https://www.childrenandscreens.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-CS-Congress-Program-Book.pdf

09/14/2023

Check out our new research on a chatbot, called REALbot, that we developed for rural LGBTQ+ youth.

Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782923000684

Through REALbot, we wanted to teach rural LGBTQ+ youth how to have more positive social media experiences. We hoped that these youth would report better social media skills and less social isolation and depression after using REALbot. We delivered REALbot through Facebook Messenger and Instagram.

Our participants were 20 U.S. rural LGBTQ+ youth ages 14-19 who reported feeling socially isolated. They used REALbot for one week and completed two surveys, one before and one after using REALbot.

The youth were generally satisfied with REALbot and found it easy to use. They offered suggestions for chatbot improvement, such as making it sound less robotic. Lastly, youth who were more engaged with REALbot reported having better social media skills and feeling less socially isolated and depressed.

Chatbots, like REALbot, are an opportunity to provide tailored mental health resources to and reduce social isolation amongst rural LGBTQ+ youth, who often lack access to mental health support, both in-person and online.

08/29/2023

Check out these video snippets about our newest project!
Thanks to funding from Pitt Momentum, we will be able to look at how loneliness and social isolation impact marginalized youths’ health.
As part of this project, we will be working with three community partners: Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, Casa San José, and Proud Haven.
Featured in these snippets are Dr. César Escobar-Viera (he/him, our PRIDE iM director), Dr. Robert Coulter (he/him), and Jamie Martina (she/her, our project coordinator).
Thank you to Emily J. Bezak and her team at the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Pittsburgh for making the full video, which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/5sB29AE6K1g

08/02/2023

Check out this new paper on how negative social media experiences may impact teens' mental health and well-being by et al. (2023) at the

Read the full article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10272577/

The researchers wanted to know whether unwanted attention, reading negative comments and posts about yourself, and feeling excluded on social media are related to depressive and anxiety symptoms, mental well-being, and quality of life in teens.

The participants of this study were 3,253 high school students from Norway who completed a one-time, online survey about their experiences on social media and their mental health.

The researchers found that as unwanted attention, reading negative comments or posts about yourself, and feeling excluded on social media increased, so did depressive and anxiety symptoms. Also, as unwanted attention, reading negative comments or posts about yourself, and feeling excluded on social media increased, mental well-being and quality of life decreased.

Teens might benefit from learning resilience and coping skills to handle negative social media experiences. Increasing teens' positive interactions on social media may support their mental health and well-being. Increasing social media literacy could be beneficial for teens, their parents, and teachers.

03/08/2023

We are honored to have received University of Pittsburgh's Momentum Funds grant! Thank you to the Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh for the write-up about this project, which launches this summer.

Read more to learn about how we're using machine learning and human-centered design to learn more about how marginalized youth communicate having feelings of loneliness and isolation on social media. And stay tuned for how to get more involved in the two-year study!

A team of investigators from Pitt Psychiatry, César Escobar-Viera, MD, PhD; Nadine Melhem, PhD; and Marta Peciña, MD, PhD, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Education, Public Health, and Arts and Sciences, have received a University of Pittsburgh Momentu...

08/02/2022

Dr. Cesar Escobar-Viera et al. just published a new Pitt PRIDE iM study examining social media experiences as well as impressions regarding digital interventions for managing social isolation among rural-living . This paper highlights both positive and negative social media experiences, as well as the significance of catering specific platforms to certain audiences. Additionally, youth identified advantages and disadvantages of various intervention delivery methods including a mobile app, social media pages or groups, conversational agents or chatbots, and websites.

In summary, positive social media experiences stem from feeling represented, making connections, and engaging in varied social media platforms. Additionally, a combination of different delivery methods is necessary to engage socially isolated youth digitally.

Read the full article here:

PurposeLesbian, gay, bis*xual, transgender, and q***r (LGBTQ) youth living in rural areas who feel isolated are at high risk of depression and suicidality. Given the lack of support in their offline communities, many rural-living LGBTQ youth turn to social media for social support. In this qualitati...

07/29/2022

Check it out! We just published an article exploring social media experiences and impressions about digital interventions. Full article is linked in our bio!