Negative Online Experiences and Reporting Rates in Youth With Mental Health Conditions

Abstract Importance Negative online experiences (NOE) are highly prevalent and pose significant dangers for youth with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions. Objective Identify risk factors of NOE and reporting barriers in youths. Design Cross-sectional survey study (January to July 2023) and qualitative follow-up study (March to May 2023). Setting A community-based sample from the Child Mind Institute’s Healthy Brain Network (HBN), a transdiagnostic research initiative in New York. Participants A total of 1,009 youth aged 9-15 years (mean [SD] age, 11.79 [1.71] years; 585 [58.55%] male) completed a 310-item quantitative survey. The qualitative follow-up study (n=109) included four administrations of a 3-day online bulletin board. Exposure(s) Not applicable. Main Outcomes and Measures Main outcomes include prevalence and risk factors of NOE and reporting behaviors and barriers. Qualitative analyses provided insights into youths’ mental models and cognitive schemas about different NOE forms. Results Of the 1,129 enrolled participants, 1,009 participants completed the study (89.37%). Over one-fourth (265 [26.6%]) encountered NOE in the past year, with 182 [68.7%] reporting multiple incidents. However, only 53 [20.0%] reported the incident. Mental health symptoms ( p