Background: Depression is common and frequently undiagnosed among college students. Social networking sites are popular among college students and can include displayed depression references. The purpose of this study was to evaluate college students' Facebook disclosures that met DSM criteria for a depression symptom or a major depressive episode (MDE). Methods: We selected public Facebook profiles from sophomore and junior undergraduates and evaluated personally written text: “status updates.” We applied DSM criteria to 1‐year status updates from each profile to determine prevalence of displayed depression symptoms and MDE criteria. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to model the association between depression disclosures and demographics or Facebook use characteristics. Results: Two hundred profiles were evaluated, and profile owners were 43.5% female with a mean age of 20 years. Overall, 25% of profiles displayed depressive symptoms and 2.5% met criteria for MDE. Profile owners were more likely to reference depression, if they averaged at least one online response from their friends to a status update disclosing depressive symptoms (exp(B) = 2.1, P<.001), or if they used Facebook more frequently (P<.001). Conclusion: College students commonly display symptoms consistent with depression on Facebook. Our findings suggest that those who receive online reinforcement from their friends are more likely to discuss their depressive symptoms publicly on Facebook. Given the frequency of depression symptom displays on public profiles, social networking sites could be an innovative avenue for combating stigma surrounding mental health conditions or for identifying students at risk for depression. Depression and Anxiety, 2011.

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between displayed alcohol use and intoxication/problem drinking (I/PD) references on Facebook and self-reported problem drinking using a clinical scale.DesignContent analysis and cross-sectional survey.SettingFacebook Web site (http://www.facebook.com/).ParticipantsThe study included undergraduate students (age range, 18-20 years) at 2 state universities with public Facebook profiles.Main ExposuresThe profiles were categorized into 1 of 3 distinct categories: Nondisplayers, Alcohol Displayers, and I/PD Displayers.Outcome MeasuresAn online survey measured problem drinking using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scale. Analyses examined associations between alcohol display category and (1) AUDIT problem drinking category using logistic regression, (2) AUDIT score using negative binomial regression, and (3) alcohol-related injury using the Fisher exact test.ResultsAmong 307 profiles identified, 224 participants completed the survey (73% response rate). The average age was 18.8 years; 122 (54%) were female; 152 (68%) were white; and approximately 50% were from each university. Profile owners who displayed I/PD were more likely (odds ratio, 4.4; 95% CI, 2.0-9.4) to score in the problem drinking category of the AUDIT scale, had 64.0% (incidence rate ratio, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.27-11.0) higher AUDIT scores overall, and were more likely to report an alcohol-related injury in the past year (P = .002).ConclusionsDisplayed references to I/PD were positively associated with AUDIT scores suggesting problem drinking as well as alcohol-related injury. Results suggest that clinical criteria for problem drinking can be applied to Facebook alcohol references.

Internet use is nearly ubiquitous among adolescents and young adults; current US data suggest that 93% of adolescents and adults between the ages of 12 and 29 years go online.¹ Given these high rates of Internet use, Internet addiction, often described as “problematic Internet use that is uncontrollable and damaging,” is a growing concern.^2,3 Several studies in the United States and abroad, and numerous anecdotal media reports, suggest possible links between overuse of the Internet by adolescents and young adults and negative health consequences such as depression, attention-deficient/hyperactivity disorder, excessive daytime sleepiness, problematic alcohol use, or injury.^4-8 Internet addiction has also been associated with negative academic consequences such as missed classes, lower grades, and even academic dismissal.^9-11 Currently, Internet addiction is proposed as a disorder in need of further study for the appendix of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) (DSM-5).¹²

Research from JAMA Pediatrics — Display of Health Risk Behaviors on MySpace by Adolescents — Prevalence and Associations

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: Background: Alcohol is often consumed in social contexts. An emerging social context in which alcohol is becoming increasingly apparent is social media. Young people increasingly display alcohol-related posts (“alcoholposts”) on social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Objective: Objective: Considering the importance of social aspects for both alcohol consumption as well as social media use, the current study investigated (1) the social content of alcoholposts (i.e., the evaluative social context and presence of people) and (2) social processes (i.e., the posting of and reactions to posts) involved with alcoholposts on social networking sites. Methods: Methods: An extensive content analysis of Facebook and Instagram-profiles (N = 192) was conducted. Results: Results: It was shown that the alcoholposts of youth frequently depicted alcohol in a positive social context and displayed people holding drinks. In addition, alcoholposts were more often placed on participants’ timelines by others (i.e., by tagging) than they were posted by participants themselves. Furthermore, it was revealed that such social posts received more likes and comments than non-social posts (e.g., in which no people were visible). Conclusions: Conclusions: Thus, both in terms of content as well as processes, alcoholposts on social media are social in nature, and a part of young people’s everyday social lives. Interventions aiming to decrease alcoholposts should therefore focus on the broad social context of individuals in which posting about alcohol takes place.

Research from JAMA Pediatrics — Reducing At-Risk Adolescents' Display of Risk Behavior on a Social Networking Web Site — A Randomized Controlled Pilot Intervention Trial