Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Oct 31, 2020
Date Accepted: Aug 1, 2021
Collecting Social Media Information in a Substance Use Intervention Trial with Substance-using Adolescent Girls
ABSTRACT
Background:
Justice-involved adolescents face numerous barriers to behavioral health intervention research participation, including inconsistent phone service access, housing disruption, legal privacy concerns, and systems mistrust. Technology, such as social media, may be a novel and developmentally appropriate adolescent research study engagement and retention tool.
Objective:
We examined the feasibility of collecting social media information for study retention purposes from adolescent girls (justice-involved and non) participating in a substance use intervention trial.
Methods:
Data were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial determining efficacy of a group-based substance use intervention for girls and young women (12-24 years) with substance use histories referred from justice and school systems in the United States. Baseline demographic and social media information was analyzed from the subset of 114 adolescent girls (Mage=16 years; range: 13-18), of whom 32% were justice-involved, 88% were racial/ethnic minorities, and 33% received public assistance.
Results:
Most girls (65%) provided at least one social media account (Instagram: 95%; Facebook: 27%; Twitter: 11%) during study enrollment. Justice-involved girls were significantly less likely to provide social media information than non-justice-involved girls (44% vs. 74%).
Conclusions:
Obtaining social media information for study retention purposes from adolescent girls with lifetime substance use appears feasible; however, particular subgroups (ie, justice-involved girls) may be less likely to provide accounts. Factors shaping justice-involved girls’ willingness to provide social media information, including mistrust and privacy concerns, and the impact of researcher access to social media information on study retention are critical directions for future research. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02293057 (PI: Tolou-Shams) NIDA Identifier: R01DA035231-01A1(PI: Tolou-Shams) https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02293057
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