Days with and without self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: Impact of childhood maltreatment on adolescent online social networking.

Abstract

Among adolescents, an increasing rate of interpersonal interactions occurs online. Previous research has shown that interpersonal context exerts a robust impact on suicidal thoughts or behaviors, yet little attention has focused on examining the content of online interactions surrounding self-injurious thoughts or behaviors. As such, the present study sought to compare online social networking behaviors among adolescents on days with and without experiencing self-injurious thoughts or behaviors, as influenced by childhood maltreatment history. Adolescents aged 13-18 hospitalized for self-injurious thoughts or behaviors were recruited as part of an ongoing longitudinal study. A subsample (N = 22) of adolescents provided data from their online social networking platforms (i.e., text messages, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). Using a mixed-methods approach, online social networking data on days of experiencing self-injurious thoughts or behaviors and days of not experiencing self-injurious thoughts or behaviors were compared. Results indicate the frequency and content of online social networking messaging do not change by day of self-injurious thoughts or behaviors or history of childhood maltreatment. However, childhood maltreatment predicts received conflictual messages as well as sent symptomatic messages on days of experiencing self-injurious thoughts or behaviors. Childhood maltreatment may play a role in the content of adolescent online behaviors, particularly on days when they experience self-injurious thoughts or behaviors. Implications for intervention are discussed.