Examination of Associations between Social Reward Responsiveness, Social Media Use, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescent suicide rates have surged by 52.2% in the past twenty years, necessitating targeted prevention strategies (CDC, 2021). This study explores a neurophysiological marker of social reward responsiveness derived from the electroencephalogram (EEG), specifically social reward positivity (RewP), and social media use as predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in adolescents. The study included 76 participants ranging from 14-17 years old. The study examined the associations between RewP, social media, and STBs from high-risk acute psychiatric treatment and community samples. Additionally, the study aims to test social media use and social RewP as unique associations of suicidal ideation and history of suicide attempt(s). We found a significant positive association between social media coping skills and suicidal ideation severity, as well as a significant positive relationship between social RewP and social media coping skills. Moreover, we found that social RewP was not associated with STBs. These findings suggest that rather than looking at the overall use of social media, understanding how adolescents use social media to cope could be key in determining suicidal ideation. Although neural measures were not directly correlated with STBs, further consideration in larger samples is warranted.