https://pittplusme.org/study/1781
Social Media Assessment of Risk in Teens (SMART) – Age 18
STUDY BASICS
Did you attempt suicide in the past 6 months? Are you 18 years of age? You may be eligible to participate in a 1-visit online research study to help find out if social media can be used to identify depression and suicide risk in teens. Eligible participants must have at least one social media account (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram). Compensation is provided.
STUDY PURPOSE
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors occur in many young people but identifying those most at risk for suicide can be difficult. The purpose of this study is to find out if social media activity can be used to identify depression and suicide risk in teenagers.
COULD THIS STUDY BE RIGHT FOR YOU?
- Age 18
- Attempted suicide within the past 6 months
- Speak fluent English
- Have at least one social media account on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (other social media accounts do not meet eligibility requirements)
WHAT PARTICIPANTS CAN EXPECT
This study involves one assessment that will be completed online via videoconference with the research team. Participants will be asked questions about mood and suicidal behavior.
With your permission, your social media data from the past year will also be collected. Social media data will only include information that you have posted on a newsfeed. This information will be collected and stored privately, without identifiable information such as names, photos, etc. Information posted by others and private messages will not be collected.
IRB: STUDY18060001B
- Social Media Assessment of Risk in Teens (SMART)
MEET THE RESEARCHERS
Jamie Zelazny
Jamie Zelazny, PhD, MPH, RN, is Assistant Professor of Health & Community Systems at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Dr. Zelazny has more than 30 years of psychiatric nursing experience in clinical and research settings. Her research is focused on the use of technology to identify and manage suicidal thoughts and behavior in youth. She also has a strong interest in the protection of human subjects in research involving technology and in research involving suicidal individuals.
Candice Biernesser
Candice Biernesser, PhD, LCSW, is a postdoctoral scholar and licensed clinical social worker at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Biernesser received her PhD from the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Prior to and during her doctoral study she worked alongside her long-standing mentor, Dr. David Brent, and took a leadership role in his studies about the transmission of suicidal behavior in families and clinical trials focused on adolescent suicide prevention. As part of her work with Dr. Brent, she also co-invented the Brite app, a safety planning and emotion regulation smartphone app that aims to reduce suicidal risk among adolescents. Dr. Biernesser is a co-investigator of the Social Media Assessment of Risk in Teens (SMART) study and is also involved with the Upstander Junior project, which aims to develop an online cyberbullying prevention intervention.