"I could be on Facebook by now": Insights from Canadian Youth on Online Mental Health Information Resources

Rasmussen-Pennington, Diane M.; Richardson, Gemma; Garinger, Christine; Contursi, Maria Luisa

Abstract

The goal of this research was to learn from Canadian youth how they look for online information about mental health and to explore how they would prefer to receive information. Saturation was reached within four focus groups with a total of 21 youth participants, including 5 male and 16 female participants from various regions in Canada. Focus group participants were heavy users of social media but acknowledged the problematic aspects of using these sites to discuss or access mental health information. There was in general a lack of knowledge about mental illnesses and a high level of concern over stigma associated with seeking or providing mental health information online. Youth expressed a desire for interactive elements and youth-related material on mental health sites in order to engage and inform them.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2013-09
• Deposit Date: Feb 3, 2023
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science
• Print ISSN: 1195-096X
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 183-200
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ils.2013.0015
• Keywords: mental health; youth; online communities; social media; recherche d'information, santé mentale des jeunes, crédibilité en ligne, compétence informationnelle, média sociaux