Social Media Effects for Teen Depression
(TBO-II Trial)

Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)

Overseen byJennifer S Silk, Ph.D

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Travel: May Be Covered

Time Reimbursement: Varies

Trial Phase: Academic

Waitlist Available

Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh

No Placebo Group

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

There has been much interest in the potential role of social media (SM) use in driving a current mental health crisis among teens, with a dire need for evidence that goes beyond self-report. One important avenue is to understand the role of the brain in driving the effects of SM use on emotional health and vice versa. However, there is almost no research addressing these questions, largely due to a lack of tasks that can probe the neural correlates of modern SM use. The goal of this clinical trial is to develop and validate a new developmentally-appropriate and ecologically-valid functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and eyetracking task, the TeenBrainOnline (TBO) Task, that is more realistic and similar to modern SM platforms. Participants will be 50 teens (ages 13-17) with depressive symptoms who will complete the final version of TBO task during fMRI with eye-tracking, an older Chatroom Interact (CHAT-I) Task, daily surveys of SM use, and measures of depressive symptoms. Our goal is to show that the task works by: * Demonstrating that it activates expected regions of the brain and visual attention biases toward feedback cues. * Showing that brain and eyetracking (visual attention) activity on the task explain variability in depressive symptoms at baseline and three months later, and work better than similar indices from an older task. * Showing that brain and eyetracking (visual attention) activity on the task are associated with real-world measures of social media use collected during daily surveys. Specifically, The investigators expect that teens whose brain and eyetracking activity suggests they are more sensitive to feedback on SM will report a social evaluation orientation toward social media use in daily life, such as engaging a lot in social comparison, worrying about missing out, and caring about getting a lot of likes and comments. Participants will be asked to: * complete a 10-15 minute screening call to determine eligibility for the study * complete one 90 minute virtual study visit to complete questionnaires and prepare for the MRI visit (visit 1) * submit 24 photos to our study specific social media site * complete an (in person) MRI scan visit (\~4 hours), which consists of 2 tasks where they will interact with peers (visit 2) * complete \~5 minute smartphone surveys 3 times a day for 16 days, asking about their daily experiences online and emotional reactions. * complete 2 online questionnaires asynchronously 3 months after their scan date

Research Team

Helmet T Karim, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

University of Pittsburgh

Jennifer S Silk, Ph.D

Principal Investigator

University of Pittsburgh

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for teens aged 13-17 with symptoms of depression. They must be willing to undergo an MRI scan, interact on a study-specific social media site, and complete daily surveys about their online experiences and emotions.

Inclusion Criteria

I am between 13 and 17 years old.

Depression screening scores on the MFQ-C in the mild (MFQ = 12-25; N = 20) or moderate-to-severe range (MFQ ≥25; N=30)

I own a smartphone to do health surveys online.

See 1 more

Exclusion Criteria

My child has a serious neurological or medical condition.

I cannot complete assessments due to language barriers or cognitive issues.

Presence of probable substance use disorder, as determined by participant report

See 6 more

Treatment Details

Interventions

Rejection and Acceptance Feedback (Behavioural Intervention)

Trial OverviewThe TeenBrainOnline Task aims to understand how social media affects teen brains by using fMRI and eyetracking. It compares brain activity during simulated social media interactions with real-world SM use patterns and depressive symptoms.

Participant Groups

1Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Group I: Adolescents aged 13-17 with at least mild symptoms of depressionExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

Adolescents in Phase 2 will be screened for depressive symptoms using the MFQ-c. 20 teens will have MFQ-c scores within the mild range (MFQ = 12-25). The sample will be stratified, with 30 teens who will have moderate to severe depressive symptoms as assessed by the MFQ-C. (MFQ ≥25; N=30)