Conference Agenda

Loneliness and suicidal ideation are pressing problems in youth, who are frequent users of social media and smartphones. Despite growing evidence highlighting the harmful effects of technology use on youth mental health, we lack longitudinal evidence on how these factors interact and how to buffer the risk. We will present results from a longitudinal, panel-based study spanning five waves (2019; 2021–2024), examining how online behaviour and psychosocial factors relate to suicidality among young people. We focus on links between social media and smartphone addiction, loneliness (social and emotional), and how these constructs predict suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempt over time. We also investigate the buffering effects of social support and social skills on suicidality. Differences by age group and gender are considered. The study aims to identify modifiable, gender-sensitive prevention targets that integrate online behavioral risk with resilience promotion.

Introduction:

Exposure to peers’ self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) is interconnected to personal involvement. This study qualitatively examines youths’ experiences with online SITB exposure, focusing on socio-cultural and structural dimensions of their digital social networks.

Methods:

Youth (N = 237; age 16–28, M = 22) were recruited through social media and completed an online questionnaire containing mostly open-ended items, 87%, had previously engaged in SITB. Responses were coded inductively and deductively (structural and sociocultural network components) and analyzed using the constant comparative method.

Results:

1. Socio-Cultural Dimensions

1a. Norms and values

Youth expressed disapproval of SITB online contents by withdrawing from platforms, deleting accounts, or reporting posts. Approval appeared in two forms: appreciation of recovery-oriented or educational posts, and troubling recognition or inspiration for further self-harm. Glorification was present in niche communities where self-harm were aestheticized.

1b. Social identity and connectedness

Seeing others’ SITB posts provided recognition, emotional bonding, and reduced loneliness: “I recognize the despair and cry for help.”

2. Structural Dimensions

2a. Roles and statuses:

Youth described various roles in relation to SITB content:

*Helper role: Some felt responsible for offering emotional support or directing peers to help lines.

*Fellow Sufferer role: shared struggles increased comfort for some but triggered urges to self-harm for others.

*Competitor role: a minority felt pressured to harm themselves more severely or imitate methods, while others resisted competitive impulses.

*Spectator role: Here, responses ranged from distress to avoidance or even desensitization.

2b. Strong versus. weak ties:

Posts from close friends elicited strong emotional reactions and immediate outreach, whereas posts from strangers or acquaintances had less impact.

Discussion:

Social media amplifies exposure to SITBs, increasing opportunities for assortative relating with both beneficial (recognition, support, recovery) and harmful (competition, glorification) effects. Strengthening suicide-prevention efforts requires sustained attention to how youth engage with SITB content online.

Despite rising youth suicide rates, suicide prevention remains absent from the formal education of many future gatekeepers, highlighting the need for easily accessible programs that young people can use to support both their peers and those they will work with professionally. We will present the results of a randomized controlled study evaluating the effectiveness of the digital suicide-prevention training tool iAlive among a multicultural sample of students preparing for careers in caretaking professions. The study focuses on strengthening their perceived competencies, attitudes, and readiness to recognise and respond to suicidal crisis. Students from several European and non-European countries were allocated to intervention and control groups and completed pre- and post-intervention assessments. Findings will offer insights into how digital gatekeeper training can equip young people across diverse cultural contexts to contribute to suicide prevention among youth.

Online suicide-prevention interventions are valuable for small, highly vulnerable populations that are hard to reach in person due to geographical dispersion. Foster children face a threefold higher risk of suicide attempts. Foster parents can buffer hopelessness, isolation, and perceived burdensomeness, yet many feel underprepared. This underscores the need for targeted intervention in online format. We piloted a 16-hour suicide-prevention online training for foster parents to assess its effectiveness.

Foster parents were recruited through foster care organizations and social media. The online training consisted of five modules: (1) psychoeducation, (2) talking about suicide, (3) strengthening the foster parent–child relationship, (4) practical tools, and (5) self-care. Foster children’s suicidal ideation (SIDAS) and suicide attempts (C-SSRS) were assessed at baseline, posttest, and three-month follow-up. Foster parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and adherence were also measured. Qualitative interviews with 14 foster parents and 9 foster children were analyzed using the Constant Comparative Method.

The sample included 53 foster parents and 46 foster children (ages 11–24, M = 15.6). Foster children showed high baseline suicidality (SIDAS M = 19.6) and moderate satisfaction with parental support. Foster parents initially demonstrated limited knowledge and competence (knowledge M = 19.7; competence M = 7.9). Follow-up analyses (expected winter 2025) will use dyadic methods. Qualitatively, foster parents reported greater confidence and clarity in supporting their foster child. Most foster children observed improved communication and recognized strategies their foster parent used, including safety planning, means restriction, and initiating conversations.

The online training appears to strengthen foster parents’ confidence, skills, and ability to respond to suicidality. Reports from both groups indicate improved communication, stronger relationships, and greater use of prevention strategies. These findings highlight the value of training programs that enhance parental self-efficacy and address stigma to reduce suicidality. Scaling up, adding booster sessions, and using train-the-trainer models will enhance long-term impact.