Background: Young people frequently make use of the internet as part of their day-to-day activities, and this has extended to their help-seeking behavior. Offline help-seeking is known to be impeded by a number of barriers including stigma and a preference for self-reliance. Online help-seeking may offer an additional domain where young people can seek help for mental health difficulties without being encumbered by these same barriers.
Objective: The objective of this systematic literature review was to examine young peoples’ online help-seeking behaviors for mental health concerns. It aimed to summarize young peoples’ experiences and identify benefits and limitations of online help-seeking for this age group. It also examined the theoretical perspectives that have been applied to understand online help-seeking.
Methods: A systematic review of peer-reviewed research papers from the following major electronic databases was conducted: PsycINFO, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Association for Computing Machinery Digital Library, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. The search was conducted in August 2017. The narrative synthesis approach to reviews was used to analyze the existing evidence to answer the review questions.
Results: Overall, 28 studies were included. The most common method of data collection was through the use of surveys. Study quality was moderate to strong. Text-based query via an internet search engine was the most commonly identified help-seeking approach. Social media, government or charity websites, live chat, instant messaging, and online communities were also used. Key benefits included anonymity and privacy, immediacy, ease of access, inclusivity, the ability to connect with others and share experiences, and a greater sense of control over the help-seeking journey. Online help-seeking has the potential to meet the needs of those with a preference for self-reliance or act as a gateway to further help-seeking. Barriers to help-seeking included a lack of mental health literacy, concerns about privacy and confidentiality, and uncertainty about the trustworthiness of online resources. Until now, there has been limited development and use of theoretical models to guide research on online help-seeking.
Conclusions: Approaches to improving help-seeking by young people should consider the role of the internet and online resources as an adjunct to offline help-seeking. This review identifies opportunities and challenges in this space. It highlights the limited use of theoretical frameworks to help conceptualize online help-seeking. Self-determination theory and the help-seeking model provide promising starting points for the development of online help-seeking theories. This review discusses the use of these theories to conceptualize online help-seeking and identify key motivations and tensions that may arise when young people seek help online.

/pdf/young-people-s-online-help-seeking-and-mental-health-2xl0rbl91l.pdf

Young People's Online Help-Seeking and Mental Health Difficulties: Systematic Narrative Review

Background: Despite increased awareness of the adverse impact of bullying on mental health, the prevalence of bullying in Australia is uncertain. The aim of the current study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of bullying (traditional and cyber) among Australian children and adolescents. This study synthesised bullying prevalence studies on victimisation experiences (being bullied) and perpetration experiences (bullying others). Method: A systematic review of electronic databases (A+ Education, EMBASE, ERIC, PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus up to 27 May 2017) was conducted. In addition, reference lists of included studies, theses recorded at the National Library of Australia, and government websites were surveyed to identify local area data as well as state and nationally representative data. Overall, 898 studies were screened and out of the 126 studies assessed for eligibility, 46 satisfied the pre-determined inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses based on quality-effects models generated pooled prevalence estimates for each of the two types of bullying involvement (victimisation and perpetration), as well as distinct models for traditional bullying and cyberbullying experiences by the type of involvement. Results: Overall, the 12-month prevalence of bullying victimisation was 15.17% (95% confidence interval = [9.17, 22.30]) and perpetration was 5.27% (95% confidence interval = [3.13, 7.92]). The lifetime prevalence for traditional bullying victimisation was 25.13% (95% confidence interval = [18.73, 32.11]) and perpetration was 11.61% (95% confidence interval = [7.41, 16.57]). Cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration were less common with lifetime prevalence of 7.02% (95% confidence interval = [2.41, 13.54]) and 3.45% (95% confidence interval = [1.13, 6.84]), respectively. Conclusion: Bullying is common among children and adolescents in Australia. There is a need to improve the measurement of bullying using a standardised instrument and for prevalence estimates to be collected on a regular basis to assess change over time. Wide implementation of anti-bullying programmes in Australian schools is a viable public health approach for the prevention of mental health problems.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0004867419846393

Prevalence of traditional bullying and cyberbullying among children and adolescents in Australia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Social media has become an integrated part of daily life, with an estimated 3 billion social media users worldwide. Adolescents and young adults are the most active users of social media. Research on social media has grown rapidly, with the potential association of social media use and mental health and well-being becoming a polarized and much-studied subject. The current body of knowledge on this theme is complex and difficult-to-follow. The current paper presents a scoping review of the published literature in the research field of social media use and its association with mental health and well-being among adolescents. Methods and Analysis: First, relevant databases were searched for eligible studies with a vast range of relevant search terms for social media use and mental health and well-being over the past five years. Identified studies were screened thoroughly and included or excluded based on prior established criteria. Data from the included studies were extracted and summarized according to the previously published study protocol. Results: Among the 79 studies that met our inclusion criteria, the vast majority (94%) were quantitative, with a cross-sectional design (57%) being the most common study design. Several studies focused on different aspects of mental health, with depression (29%) being the most studied aspect. Almost half of the included studies focused on use of non-specified social network sites (43%). Of specified social media, Facebook (39%) was the most studied social network site. The most used approach to measuring social media use was frequency and duration (56%). Participants of both genders were included in most studies (92%) but seldom examined as an explanatory variable. 77% of the included studies had social media use as the independent variable. Conclusion: The findings from the current scoping review revealed that about 3/4 of the included studies focused on social media and some aspect of pathology. Focus on the potential association between social media use and positive outcomes seems to be rarer in the current literature. Amongst the included studies, few separated between different forms of (inter)actions on social media, which are likely to be differentially associated with mental health and well-being outcomes.

/pdf/social-media-use-and-mental-health-and-well-being-among-3b2qx6ga4b.pdf

Social Media Use and Mental Health and Well-Being Among Adolescents - A Scoping Review.

Young people's conceptualizations of the nature of cyberbullying: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research

This is the first review to rigorously examine the mediating role of cognitive factors in the relationship between childhood trauma and subsequent adult psychopathology, and highlight areas for future research. A database search (Child Development & Adolescent Studies, ERIC, Global Health, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO) was conducted to identify empirical studies on cognitive factors, explaining the relationship between different types of adverse childhood experiences and adult psychopathology across clinical and nonclinical populations. A narrative synthesis and appraisal of the methodological quality of the studies was conducted. Ninety-eight mediation studies were identified, comprising 4,137 clinical and 28,228 nonclinical participants. Despite great variation in methodological quality of the studies, our narrative synthesis suggests that cognitive factors mediate the relationship between early trauma and later psychopathology. This finding is consistent across different measures of traumatic experiences, psychopathology, and cognitive mediators. Cognitive mediators represent potentially valuable intervention targets for (non)clinical patients who have experienced childhood adversity. Future studies are needed to (a) establish longitudinal causal connections, and (b) assess the effect of interventions that specifically target cognitive change in patients with different levels and types of pathology.

Cognitive mediators of the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and adult psychopathology: A systematic review.

To examine the relationship between young Australians’ cyberbullying experiences, their help-seeking practices and associated mental well-being and social connectedness, with a view to informing national health and well-being agendas. An online survey was administered to young people aged 12–18 years (n = 2,338), recruited across Australia in year 2 of a larger 4-year study. Youth with no experience of cyberbullying had better well-being profiles and mental health overall. Conversely, cyberbully victims, had poorer well-being and mental health and tended not to engage with online support services, in spite of being more likely to be online after 11 pm. Parents and peers were identified as key sources of help for most young people when dealing with problems. Cyberbullying is a public health issue particularly for vulnerable youth whose mental health and well-being is impacted more than those not involved. As youth are spending increasing time in the 24/7 online environment, there is a need to develop initiatives that engage young people and encourage help-seeking online, whilst concomitantly building capacity of parents and peers to support their well-being.

Cyberbullying, help-seeking and mental health in young Australians: implications for public health

Help-seeking is an adaptive process whereby a perso n seeks external support for a problem. Help-seeking early in response to mental h e t concerns is thus important in preventing mental illness in later life. Recent dev elopments in service provision such as online help services, have been identified as promo ting help-seeking behaviours, but there are many barriers that work against a young p erson seeking effective help early on, including personal characteristics such as attitude s toward help sources. Further, the influence of others on a young person’s help-seekin g behaviours is beginning to emerge in the youth help-seeking literature, and may be an important facilitator of help-seeking behaviours. The present mixedmethod study explore d young people’s attitudes toward help sources, and how receptive young people are to the influence of others on their help-seeking intentions. Critically, the study aims to determine whether these variables have varying effects on different types of help sou rces (formal, informal and online). It was found that the influence of others and attitude s toward help sources had little bearing on online help-seeking intentions, in contrast to h elp-seeking intentions from traditional modes of help-seeking. Recommendations are made as to how young people can be better informed about the benefits of online help-s eeking, with the hopes of highlighting the potentially untapped resource of other people’s influence on a young person’s decision to seek help online.

/pdf/help-seeking-online-by-young-people-does-the-influence-of-37g6gqfomd.pdf

Help-Seeking Online by Young People: Does the Influence of Others Matter?

Pre-service Teachers’ Understanding of Bullying in Australia and India

Bullying, Law and Pre-service Teachers’ Perspectives

Preliminary studies suggest that both childhood experiences and coping behaviours may be linked to eating disorder symptoms. In this study maladaptive schema coping modes were investigated as mediators in the relationship between perceived negative parenting and disordered eating. A total of 174 adults with eating and/or body image concerns completed questionnaires measuring parenting experiences, schema modes, and disordered eating behaviours. Perfectionistic Overcontroller, Self-Aggrandiser, Compliant Surrenderer, Detached Protector and Detached Self-Soother coping modes partially explained the variance in the relationships between perceived negative parenting experiences and the behaviours of restricting and compensation (purging and overexercising). Our findings suggest that Overcompensatory, Avoidant and Surrender coping mechanisms all appear to play a role in the maintenance of eating disorder symptoms, and that there are multiple complex relationships between these and Early Maladaptive Schemas that warrant further investigation.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2Fs40337-016-0123-1.pdf

Do dysfunctional coping modes mediate the relationship between perceived parenting style and disordered eating behaviours

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