Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29483064›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2018

Help-Seeking on Facebook Versus More Traditional Sources of Help: Cross-Sectional Survey of Military Veterans.

Alan R Teo, Heather E Marsh, Samuel B L Liebow, Jason I Chen, Christopher W Forsberg, Christina Nicolaidis, Somnath Saha, Steven K Dobscha

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Alan R TeoHealth Services Research and Development Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, Department of Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2393-088X
Heather E MarshHealth Services Research and Development Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, Department of Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-1439-5029
Samuel B L LiebowDepartment of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-6002-6593
Jason I ChenHealth Services Research and Development Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, Department of Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-6490-164X
Christopher W ForsbergHealth Services Research and Development Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, Department of Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2800-2687
Christina NicolaidisSchool of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-9394-5956
Somnath SahaHealth Services Research and Development Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, Department of Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-5027-8295
Steven K DobschaHealth Services Research and Development Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, Department of Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-1539-8950
Oregon Health & Science University · USPortland State University · USHealth Services Research & Development · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe media has devoted significant attention to anecdotes of individuals who post messages on Facebook prior to suicide. However, it is unclear to what extent social media is perceived as a source of help or how it compares to other sources of potential support for mental health problems.

objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the degree to which military veterans with depression use social media for help-seeking in comparison to other more traditional sources of help.

methodsCross-sectional self-report survey of 270 adult military veterans with probable major depression. Help-seeking intentions were measured with a modified General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. Facebook users and nonusers were compared via t tests, Chi-square, and mixed effects regression models. Associations between types of help-seeking were examined using mixed effects models.

resultsThe majority of participants were users of social media, primarily Facebook (n=162). Mean overall help-seeking intentions were similar between Facebook users and nonusers, even after adjustment for potential confounders. Facebook users were very unlikely to turn to Facebook as a venue for support when experiencing either emotional problems or suicidal thoughts. Compared to help-seeking intentions for Facebook, help-seeking intentions for formal (eg, psychologists), informal (eg, friends), or phone helpline sources of support were significantly higher. Results did not substantially change when examining users of other social media, women, or younger adults.

conclusionsIn its current form, the social media platform Facebook is not seen as a venue to seek help for emotional problems or suicidality among veterans with major depression in the United States.

Indexed as

Help-Seeking BehaviorAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMilitary PersonnelSocial MediaSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesVeteransFacebookinternetservice usesocial mediasocial networking sitestreatment-seekingutilization

Identifiers

PMID29483064
PMCPMC5847817
OpenAlexW2787899062

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.