Support over Social Media among Socially Isolated Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Rural U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities for Intervention Research

Sana Karim (), Sophia Choukas-Bradley, Ana Radovic, Savannah R. Roberts, Anne J. Maheux and César G. Escobar-Viera
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Sana Karim: Learning Sciences Research, Digital Promise 1001 Connecticut Ave NW #935, Washington, DC 20036, USA
Sophia Choukas-Bradley: Department of Psychology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
Ana Radovic: Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
Savannah R. Roberts: Department of Psychology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
Anne J. Maheux: Department of Psychology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
César G. Escobar-Viera: Center for Enhancing Treatment & Utilization for Depression & Emergent Suicidality (ETUDES), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) rural adolescents are at risk for higher levels of social isolation, a well-known risk factor for depression and other negative health outcomes. We qualitatively examined how rural SGM youth seek emotional and informational support, which are protective factors for social isolation on social media (SM) regarding their SGM identity, and determined which SM platforms and tools are most effective in providing support. We conducted semistructured online interviews with rural SGM teens who screened positive for social isolation in spring 2020 and used a thematic analysis approach to analyze the data. Sixteen youths participated in interviews. Themes included seeking emotional support through SM groups and communities, seeking emotional support in designated online SGM spaces, using SM feeds for informational support, and disclosing SGM identity differentially across platforms. SM-based interventions could be leveraged to provide emotional and informational support for rural SGM youth across specific SM platforms and consider whether they are providing emotional or information support. Interventions focused on informational support may best be used on content-based platforms. Those designed to combat social isolation and connect marginalized SGM youths to similar others might benefit from community and forum-based platforms.

Keywords: rural youth; social isolation; LGBT youth; social media interventions; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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