Using Social Networking Sites in Research: An Emerging Approach to Engaging With Young People Who Have a Parent With a Mental Illness and/or Substance Abuse Disorder

Abstract

The challenges involved in engaging young people who have a parent with a mental illness in research and in programs are well documented. Social networking sites provide a potentially useful medium to include at-risk youths and their families by removing some accessibility barriers that may prevent engagement and connection with individuals whose parents or family members have a mental illness. This paper examines how social networking sites can be used to recruit youths and/or their families and engage them in research. Applying a case study analysis, the implications of using social media as a tool for recruitment and data collection and the ethical considerations and limitations will be discussed. Results tentatively indicate that social networking sites may be an effective method to engage young people of parents with a mental illness. The study argues for more informed use of social platforms for the translation and dissemination of research and intervention prevention. Overall, this paper will contribute to public mental health practice through guidelines and policy about social media research with at-risk young people and their families.

Digital Mental Health for Young People: A Scoping Review of Ethical Promises and Challenges

“…The most recurrent expected benefit associated with the use of digital mental health is the prospect of increased accessibility to health care (18)(19)(20)(21). This assessment was based on the increased affordability of mental health apps or internet-based platforms in comparison to face-to-face consultations (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27) and the easy access given the liberation of geographical restraints (22)(23)(24)(25)(28)(29)(30).…”

Research Recruitment: A Case Study on Women with Substance Use Disorder

“…Since studies on research recruitment of women with SUD were limited, the search was broadened to include research recruitment of people who use drugs (PWUD). Ten studies were relevant; seven in international settings (Boucher et al, 2017;Brown et al, 2019;Grové, 2019;MacVicar, Humphrey, & Forbes-McKay, 2018;Sirdifield, Owens, & Brooker, 2016;Thong, Ulph, Barrowclough, & Gregg, 2019;Thornton, Harris, Baker, Johnson, & Kay-Lambkin, 2016) and three in the United States (Ballard, Cooper, & Young, 2019;Batista et al, 2016;Ryan, Smeltzer, & Sharts-Hopko, 2019). The literature emphasized individual factors as prominent challenges regarding research recruitment of women with SUD and PWUD.…”

“…Ballard et al (2019) determined feasibility of using web-based recruitment strategies in opioid use research to minimize coercion. Investigators explained that the use of web-based recruitment would be helpful in decreasing stigmatization for PWUD, thus increasing their comfort with research participation (Ballard et al, 2019;Grové et al, 2019). Other investigators explained that web-based recruitment captures hard-to-reach populations and those with a higher severity of drug use (Thornton et al, 2016).…”

“…Other investigators explained that web-based recruitment captures hard-to-reach populations and those with a higher severity of drug use (Thornton et al, 2016). However, Grové et al (2019) argued that those of lower socioeconomic status may be missed, resulting in a study sample that is not representative of the population.…”

Co-developing a Mental Health and Wellbeing Chatbot With and for Young People

“…A review of currently available mental health care technology recommended that mental health technologies are needed to help prevent mental health issues and improve the wellbeing of individuals, and to ease the burden on health, community and school systems ( 45 ). There are calls for further understanding of technology and the ways it can support youth mental health ( 46 , 47 ). Yet, there is a lack of mental health technologies that are specifically developed for and with young people, and little research into the efficacy of this type of technology.…”