Connecting the invisible dots: Reaching lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents and young adults at risk for suicide through online social networks☆
Section snippets
Background
Compared to their peers, lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents and young adults (Young LGB) report higher rates of suicide ideation and attempts (Silenzio, Pena, Duberstein, Cerel, & Knox, 2007), and have been difficult to reach through conventional means (Participants in the Scientific Workshop to Measure the Health Concerns of Lesbian, 2002). In part due to the evolving role new technologies play in normative social development (Maczewski, 2002), Young LGB report high rates of Internet use (
Methods
This study was approved by the Research Subjects Review Board (RSRB) of the University of Rochester Medical Center as exempt human subjects research (RSRB Protocol #15000). Due to the use of only publicly available information, access to which is under direct control of potential subjects, and the minimal risks posed by this research, informed consent was waived by the RSRB. In the first stage of the study, only observational data regarding information subjects opted to make publicly available
Nodal-level analysis
Starting from the seed node, we mapped interrelationships between a total of 100,014 LGB self-identified individuals. After reaching the predetermined point of 100,000 individuals, the rate of new additions (data not shown) was constant, implying that the final population size could not be determined and data collection was terminated as planned. The size of the network at 1 degree was 94. At two degrees, the network consisted of 16,033 individuals (94 1st and 15,939 2nd degree nodes). After
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first social network analysis of a group with both high rates of Internet use and at high-risk for suicide ideation and attempts. It is also among the first to demonstrate the potential of online social networks as a prevention platform. This may be particularly relevant to future research and interventions targeting LGB youth, who have been historically quite difficult to reach.
Representing a much larger scale network with higher numbers of personal social
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We would like to thank Douglas S. Portman for the development and programming of the data collection software. The University of Rochester provided institutional support and funding for this project. Additional funding was provided through NIMH Grant Number T32-MH020061 (Yeates Conwell, PI).