A pilot study examining risk behavior in facebook posts for maltreated versus comparison youth using content analysis.

BACKGROUND

Social Media use is highly prevalent among contemporary adolescents yet, no studies have examined the similarity in risk content (e.g., substance use, sexual behaviors) between the online posts of maltreated youth and their friends.

OBJECTIVE

The current study examined the risk content of Facebook posts among a sample maltreated and comparison youth and compared the rates of risk content produced by the participants versus their Facebook friends.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data were from a sample of maltreated (n = 56) and comparison (n = 62) youth. At the time of data collection participants were in young adulthood (M = 21.78 years; SD = 1.45), but the timeframe of their Facebook profiles captured mid adolescence to young adulthood.

METHODS

Data were downloaded from the Facebook profiles of all participants and the posts and comments were coded for references to alcohol, marijuana, hard drugs, partying, and sexual content.

RESULTS

The results showed that maltreated and comparison youth were similar in the amount of risky content they posted on Facebook as well as in the amount posted by their Facebook friends. Correlations between participant's and friends' posts showed stronger associations for posts about alcohol use for the maltreated group but stronger associations in the comparison group for posts about marijuana, hard drug, and sexual references. Gender differences were also examined, with males producing more online risky content than females.

CONCLUSIONS

Next steps should incorporate a more nuanced analysis to determine which online friends are the sources of risky content.