Bridget Kenny,Louise La Sala,Caroline Gao,Charlie Cooper,Samuel McKay,Amanda Sabo,Jo Robinson
Young people may search for, or be exposed to, self-harm- and suicide-related content on social media, and they sometimes use these platforms to communicate about their own experiences of self-harm and suicide. Preliminary evidence demonstrates exposure to self-harm and suicide-related content online has both protective and harmful effects. However, research in this area has been hindered by the lack of validated measures of young people's behavior, confidence, and safety when communicating online about self-harm and suicide. This study seeks to address this by reporting on the development and validation of the #chatsafe Online Safety Scale in a sample of 535 adolescents and young adults aged 16 to 25 years (M = 21.81, SD = 2.41). Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed to explore the factor structure of the scale and validate the measurement models. Multigroup analyses were performed to assess gender invariance, and Cronbach's alpha was calculated to assess the internal consistency of each subscale. Results indicate that the scale has good factor structure, performs well across genders, and demonstrates good internal consistency. This study provides preliminary validation of the #chatsafe Online Safety Scale and suggests it can be used in studies exploring young people's online experiences and behaviors related to self-harm and suicide, providing a stronger and comparable evidence base to guide policy and practice.
{"title":"Young People's Behavior, Confidence, and Safety when Communicating Online about Self-Harm and Suicide: Development and Validation of the #Chatsafe Online Safety Scale.","authors":"Bridget Kenny,Louise La Sala,Caroline Gao,Charlie Cooper,Samuel McKay,Amanda Sabo,Jo Robinson","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2024.0558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0558","url":null,"abstract":"Young people may search for, or be exposed to, self-harm- and suicide-related content on social media, and they sometimes use these platforms to communicate about their own experiences of self-harm and suicide. Preliminary evidence demonstrates exposure to self-harm and suicide-related content online has both protective and harmful effects. However, research in this area has been hindered by the lack of validated measures of young people's behavior, confidence, and safety when communicating online about self-harm and suicide. This study seeks to address this by reporting on the development and validation of the #chatsafe Online Safety Scale in a sample of 535 adolescents and young adults aged 16 to 25 years (M = 21.81, SD = 2.41). Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed to explore the factor structure of the scale and validate the measurement models. Multigroup analyses were performed to assess gender invariance, and Cronbach's alpha was calculated to assess the internal consistency of each subscale. Results indicate that the scale has good factor structure, performs well across genders, and demonstrates good internal consistency. This study provides preliminary validation of the #chatsafe Online Safety Scale and suggests it can be used in studies exploring young people's online experiences and behaviors related to self-harm and suicide, providing a stronger and comparable evidence base to guide policy and practice.","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143876445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ultra-Processed Futures: How Digital Life and Food Systems Shape Metabolic Health.","authors":"Brenda K Wiederhold","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2025.0115","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2025.0115","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143857290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study investigated the effect of users' "belief in a just world" (BJW) on the persuasiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) agents' recommendations. Our prediction that users' preferences for human or AI agents vary according to their BJW levels was tested experimentally. The results revealed that individuals with high BJW rated human agents' recommendations more favorably than those of AI agents, whereas those with low BJW preferred AI agents' ones. This interaction was mediated by the perceptions of the agents' benevolence and selfishness, which varied depending on the BJW levels and agent type. High-BJW individuals perceived human agents as more benevolent and less selfish, whereas low-BJW individuals showed the opposite pattern. In contrast, AI agents' benevolence and selfishness perceptions were not influenced by BJW levels. This study provides theoretical insights by identifying BJW as a key factor affecting AI agents' persuasive effects and suggests that perceived benevolence and selfishness are the psychological mechanisms behind these effects. These findings also offer practical guidance for designing more effective AI agent strategies tailored to consumer BJW levels.
{"title":"Effects of Consumers' Belief in a Just World on Artificial Intelligence Recommendations: Mediating Effects of Perceived Benevolence and Selfishness.","authors":"Jungyong Ahn,Eunseo Kim","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2024.0513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0513","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effect of users' \"belief in a just world\" (BJW) on the persuasiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) agents' recommendations. Our prediction that users' preferences for human or AI agents vary according to their BJW levels was tested experimentally. The results revealed that individuals with high BJW rated human agents' recommendations more favorably than those of AI agents, whereas those with low BJW preferred AI agents' ones. This interaction was mediated by the perceptions of the agents' benevolence and selfishness, which varied depending on the BJW levels and agent type. High-BJW individuals perceived human agents as more benevolent and less selfish, whereas low-BJW individuals showed the opposite pattern. In contrast, AI agents' benevolence and selfishness perceptions were not influenced by BJW levels. This study provides theoretical insights by identifying BJW as a key factor affecting AI agents' persuasive effects and suggests that perceived benevolence and selfishness are the psychological mechanisms behind these effects. These findings also offer practical guidance for designing more effective AI agent strategies tailored to consumer BJW levels.","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143862014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"SOCRATES. Developing and Evaluating a Fine-Tuned ChatGPT Model for Accessible Mental Health Intervention.","authors":"Fabio Frisone,Chiara Pupillo,Chiara Rossi,Giuseppe Riva","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2025.45510.cyeuro","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2025.45510.cyeuro","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143846415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Most research regarding social comparisons on social media has been limited demonstrating their effects on mental health, without explaining the underlying motivational mechanics. It appears that individuals are often motivated to reduce uncertainty about the self. Social media may serve as a tool to access diagnostic information through social comparison. However, because these platforms predominantly exposed to upward comparisons, individuals motivated to self-assess with social comparisons on social media might be negatively impacted, leading to lower mental health. Furthermore, depressive symptoms might also be more motivated to self-assess, thereby exacerbating their lower mental health. This suggests that depressive symptoms can act as both an antecedent and a consequence of self-assessment motivation (SAM). To examine these reciprocal effects, we conducted a 14-day diary study testing our model using dynamic structural equation modeling. The results revealed a reciprocal association between depressive state and SAM, where the previous depressive state was associated with more SAM, and SAM was associated with more depressive state in return, supporting the existence of a vicious cycle.
{"title":"Trapped in Online Comparisons: Within Reciprocal Dynamic of Self-Assessment Motivation and Depressive State on Social Media.","authors":"Raphaël Aubry,Alain Quiamzade,Laurenz L Meier","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2024.0565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0565","url":null,"abstract":"Most research regarding social comparisons on social media has been limited demonstrating their effects on mental health, without explaining the underlying motivational mechanics. It appears that individuals are often motivated to reduce uncertainty about the self. Social media may serve as a tool to access diagnostic information through social comparison. However, because these platforms predominantly exposed to upward comparisons, individuals motivated to self-assess with social comparisons on social media might be negatively impacted, leading to lower mental health. Furthermore, depressive symptoms might also be more motivated to self-assess, thereby exacerbating their lower mental health. This suggests that depressive symptoms can act as both an antecedent and a consequence of self-assessment motivation (SAM). To examine these reciprocal effects, we conducted a 14-day diary study testing our model using dynamic structural equation modeling. The results revealed a reciprocal association between depressive state and SAM, where the previous depressive state was associated with more SAM, and SAM was associated with more depressive state in return, supporting the existence of a vicious cycle.","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143827108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Currently, time spent online viewing short-form video (SFV) has become an increasingly popular activity. SFV users spend over two hours daily across a variety of SFV platforms. Undergirded by the theory of technological affordances, the present study is the first to investigate the relative strength of three tech affordances-recommendation accuracy, serendipity, and perceived effortlessness offered by three popular SFV platforms: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. A survey of 555 college students was conducted. Each respondent was asked to rate each of the three SFV platforms on an 18-item scale that measured the three tech affordances of interest. Respondents then completed scales that measured social media engagement and social media addiction. As posited, SFV users rated the TikTok platform as offering more tech affordances than Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Study results also found tech affordances derived from TikTok and Instagram Reels indirectly impact addictive social media use through the mediating variable of social media engagement. Study results show affordances offered by SFVs, as designed, are associated with heightened social media engagement, and ultimately, addiction. Future research should investigate these tech affordances and others and their relationship with heightened social media use, as well as how SFV is used (passively or actively) impacts engagement and its potential outcomes.
{"title":"Technology Affordances, Social Media Engagement, and Social Media Addiction: An Investigation of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.","authors":"James A Roberts,Meredith E David","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2024.0338","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0338","url":null,"abstract":"Currently, time spent online viewing short-form video (SFV) has become an increasingly popular activity. SFV users spend over two hours daily across a variety of SFV platforms. Undergirded by the theory of technological affordances, the present study is the first to investigate the relative strength of three tech affordances-recommendation accuracy, serendipity, and perceived effortlessness offered by three popular SFV platforms: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. A survey of 555 college students was conducted. Each respondent was asked to rate each of the three SFV platforms on an 18-item scale that measured the three tech affordances of interest. Respondents then completed scales that measured social media engagement and social media addiction. As posited, SFV users rated the TikTok platform as offering more tech affordances than Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Study results also found tech affordances derived from TikTok and Instagram Reels indirectly impact addictive social media use through the mediating variable of social media engagement. Study results show affordances offered by SFVs, as designed, are associated with heightened social media engagement, and ultimately, addiction. Future research should investigate these tech affordances and others and their relationship with heightened social media use, as well as how SFV is used (passively or actively) impacts engagement and its potential outcomes.","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143827103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tobias Mühling,Joy Backhaus,Lea Demmler,Sarah König
Virtual reality (VR) offers a safe, immersive environment for medical training, but some users remain skeptical about a broader implementation. Our study aims to explore how personality traits, affective responses, and task-related perceptions correlate with attitudes towards VR-based medical emergency training. Forty-seven medical students participated in a 30-minute VR emergency training. Personality traits were assessed using the short version of the Big Five Inventory beforehand, while affective responses (using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, PANAS), stress, and motivation were measured before and after the training. Participants also rated the sessions' difficulty, cognitive challenge, and technical maturity of the VR program and their acceptance of VR for training and examination purposes. Cluster analysis identified three groups: Cluster 1, characterized by low technical affinity, limited prior VR experience, and high extraversion, demonstrated the greatest increase in negative affective responses and the lowest VR acceptance. In contrast, cluster 3, with high technical affinity and neuroticism, experienced more positive affective responses and increased motivation, expressing high acceptance of VR for training purposes but some reservation regarding its use in examinations. Cluster 2 displayed balanced affective responses and strong support for VR use in both settings. Thematic analysis identified perceived lack of control due to insufficient medical knowledge, technical issues, and simulation sickness as sources of negative affective responses. In conclusion, personality and affective responses may play a significant role in shaping the attitude towards VR training applications. Uncovering emotional barriers to VR adoption among skeptical users and understanding their underlying reasons may inform future strategies for overcoming them. Given the relatively small sample size, results of this preliminary study should be expanded through further examination of diverse populations and a broader range of VR applications.
{"title":"How Personality and Affective Responses Are Associated with Skepticism Towards Virtual Reality in Medical Training-A Pre-Post Intervention Study.","authors":"Tobias Mühling,Joy Backhaus,Lea Demmler,Sarah König","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2024.0567","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0567","url":null,"abstract":"Virtual reality (VR) offers a safe, immersive environment for medical training, but some users remain skeptical about a broader implementation. Our study aims to explore how personality traits, affective responses, and task-related perceptions correlate with attitudes towards VR-based medical emergency training. Forty-seven medical students participated in a 30-minute VR emergency training. Personality traits were assessed using the short version of the Big Five Inventory beforehand, while affective responses (using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, PANAS), stress, and motivation were measured before and after the training. Participants also rated the sessions' difficulty, cognitive challenge, and technical maturity of the VR program and their acceptance of VR for training and examination purposes. Cluster analysis identified three groups: Cluster 1, characterized by low technical affinity, limited prior VR experience, and high extraversion, demonstrated the greatest increase in negative affective responses and the lowest VR acceptance. In contrast, cluster 3, with high technical affinity and neuroticism, experienced more positive affective responses and increased motivation, expressing high acceptance of VR for training purposes but some reservation regarding its use in examinations. Cluster 2 displayed balanced affective responses and strong support for VR use in both settings. Thematic analysis identified perceived lack of control due to insufficient medical knowledge, technical issues, and simulation sickness as sources of negative affective responses. In conclusion, personality and affective responses may play a significant role in shaping the attitude towards VR training applications. Uncovering emotional barriers to VR adoption among skeptical users and understanding their underlying reasons may inform future strategies for overcoming them. Given the relatively small sample size, results of this preliminary study should be expanded through further examination of diverse populations and a broader range of VR applications.","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143827113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are Social Media Bans the Solution to the Youth Mental Health Crisis? Some Governments Think So.","authors":"Brenda K Wiederhold","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2025.0116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2025.0116","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143819307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexander Trinidad,Verónica Marcos,Alvaro Montes,Dolores Seijo
The present study aims to explore the negative online experiences in adolescence, as well as examine the associations of those and their interaction patterns with the frequency of worry and risk perception in relation to several types of online victimization. We conducted a cross-sectional survey study conducted between 2022 and 2023. We collected a nonprobabilistic sample of 824 Spanish adolescents. We elaborated a questionnaire based on measures of online victimization to collect data about the fear of and risk perception of online victimization. The sample was composed of 48.3% females, 49.5% males, and 1.8% gender nonbinary, aged between 12 and 18 years old (mean = 14.53, standard deviation = 1.48). The results showed a prevalence point of negative experiences in the use of social networking or messaging apps of 23.4%, with older adolescents (aged 15-18 years) having a slightly higher prevalence than younger adolescents. Additionally, negative online experience was higher among female adolescents. The bivariate analyses of the high frequency of worry about and risk perception of online victimization and gender revealed that, overall, adolescents are more worried about online victimization than they perceive risk. The log-linear regression shows different types of associations among, the high frequency of worry about or risk perception of online victimization, negative online experiences, and gender.
{"title":"Negative Online Experiences, Worry, and Risk Perception Among Adolescents: Gender Differences and Implications for Cybercrime Awareness.","authors":"Alexander Trinidad,Verónica Marcos,Alvaro Montes,Dolores Seijo","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2024.0476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0476","url":null,"abstract":"The present study aims to explore the negative online experiences in adolescence, as well as examine the associations of those and their interaction patterns with the frequency of worry and risk perception in relation to several types of online victimization. We conducted a cross-sectional survey study conducted between 2022 and 2023. We collected a nonprobabilistic sample of 824 Spanish adolescents. We elaborated a questionnaire based on measures of online victimization to collect data about the fear of and risk perception of online victimization. The sample was composed of 48.3% females, 49.5% males, and 1.8% gender nonbinary, aged between 12 and 18 years old (mean = 14.53, standard deviation = 1.48). The results showed a prevalence point of negative experiences in the use of social networking or messaging apps of 23.4%, with older adolescents (aged 15-18 years) having a slightly higher prevalence than younger adolescents. Additionally, negative online experience was higher among female adolescents. The bivariate analyses of the high frequency of worry about and risk perception of online victimization and gender revealed that, overall, adolescents are more worried about online victimization than they perceive risk. The log-linear regression shows different types of associations among, the high frequency of worry about or risk perception of online victimization, negative online experiences, and gender.","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143819306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stefano De Gaspari, Irene Alice Chicchi Giglioli, Alessandro Capriotti, Giuseppe Riva
{"title":"AGE-IT: Merging Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence to Innovate Elderly Assessment with Digital Biomarkers.","authors":"Stefano De Gaspari, Irene Alice Chicchi Giglioli, Alessandro Capriotti, Giuseppe Riva","doi":"10.1089/cyber.2025.0042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2025.0042","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10872,"journal":{"name":"Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143763272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}