Being an Instagram influencer isn’t always a good thing. New research found that vulnerable young people who see online posts of self-harm — like cutting — may copy those destructive behaviors. Almost one-third of teens and young adults who reported seeing self-harm posts on Instagram said they had performed the same or similar self-harming behavior afterwards. Seeing these images online “normalizes” the behavior, according study senior author Dan Romer. He’s research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. “Vulnerable kids think, ‘Well, maybe that’s something I should consider doing,’” he said. Romer noted that this problem goes beyond just Instagram. “Kids who don’t have mental health problems wouldn’t repeatedly self-harm. It’s vulnerable kids trying to relieve their distress,” he explained. But he added that this study indicates that these types of social media posts can be harmful to teens and young adults. The researchers initially became concerned about the potential effects of self-harm posts after a British father said his 14-year-old daughter had looked at explicit self-harming images on Instagram before killing herself. The social media site has since said that graphic depictions of self-harm aren’t allowed in posts. Self-harm typically refers to cutting, but can include other behaviors such as burning, hitting or head-banging. Self-harm isn’t usually suicidal, but people who engage in self-harm are at increased risk for…  read on >

Teens spend countless hours glued to their phones and tablets, continually posting to social media, but British researchers report that might not be as terrible as many parents may think. It appears that teens who are less satisfied with their lives do tend to spend more time on Snapchat, Instagram and the like, but the link between life satisfaction and time spent on social media was “trivial,” the research found. “The previous literature was based almost entirely on correlations with no means to dissociate whether social media use leads to changes in life satisfaction or changes in life satisfaction influence social media use,” explained researcher Amy Orben, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Oxford. But by applying new modeling methods to an eight-year survey of households in the United Kingdom, the researchers were able to tease out data that gave them a better understanding of the effect of social media. The survey looked at how much time teens spent on social media during a normal school day and compared this with their life satisfaction ratings. The researchers did find lower life satisfaction increased the time spent on social media, while less time on social media was tied to higher life satisfaction. This finding was stronger among girls than boys, but even so, the connection was tenuous, they noted. Co-lead author Andrew Przybylski, director…  read on >

Traditional media, including TV and magazine ads, tend to portray ideals of physical perfection that can fuel worries about body image and eating disorders. A study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that spending hours on social media is linked to these issues, too. In particular, people in the top 25% of high-volume social media users were more than twice as likely to have an eating disorder. Among the social media sites included in the study were Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as Pinterest, Snapchat and LinkedIn. What the researchers still don’t know is which comes first — whether social media creates an environment that can lead to body image concerns and eating disorders, or whether people with these issues connect with others like them through social media and, in turn, find support to continue their unhealthy eating. These are the most common types of eating disorders: Anorexia — eating so little you’re at a dangerously low weight, which can lead to cardiac arrest and potentially fatal electrolyte imbalances. Bulimia — eating huge amounts of food and then intentionally vomiting to prevent what you’ve eaten from being digested, or misusing laxatives. Binge-eating — consuming large quantities of food. It’s important to recognize signs of an eating disorder in yourself or a loved one and get help before it affects quality of…  read on >

For veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) combined with a drinking problem, the type of psychotherapy prescribed can make a difference in recovery rates, a new study finds. So-called prolonged exposure therapy is more effective than coping skills therapy in helping these patients, according to researchers at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. “The main takeaway of the study for me is that we may be doing a disservice to veterans if we don’t offer them the best treatments we have available for PTSD, such as prolonged exposure,” said study leader Sonya Norman. The findings could help guide care for many veterans who have both PTSD and an alcohol use disorder, which often occur together, Norman and her colleagues said. Alcohol use disorder does not always rise to the level of alcoholism, which is a term used to describe someone with a severe form of alcohol dependence. The study included 119 patients with PTSD and alcohol use disorder. Some received prolonged exposure therapy while others received a coping skills therapy called Seeking Safety. In prolonged exposure therapy, patients gradually confront memories, feelings and situations related to their PTSD-causing trauma. The objective is to face them without feeling anxiety and stress. It’s considered the gold standard for PTSD treatment. Seeking Safety is a widely accepted therapy for patients with both PTSD and alcohol use disorder, and…  read on >