Barriers and enablers to the moderation of self-harm content for a young person’s online forum

BACKGROUND: Self-harm amongst young people in the United Kingdom is higher than in other European countries. Young people who self-harm are often reluctant to seek professional help, turning increasingly to the internet for support, including online forums. There are concerns about misinformation or harmful content being shared, potentially leading to self-harm contagion. Moderation of online forums can reduce risks, improving forum safety. Moderation of self-harm content, however, is an under-researched area. AIMS: Using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), this study examines the barriers and enablers to moderation of self-harm content and suggests behaviour change techniques (BCTs) to address barriers. METHOD: Qualitative interviews with 8 moderators (of a total of 16) from the UK’s leading young people’s support service for under 25s, The Mix, were conducted. RESULTS: Thematic analysis identified eleven enablers, four barriers and one both an enabler and a barrier. Barriers included emotional exhaustion, working with partial information, access to timely support, vagueness within the guidelines and influence of community users. BCTs selected included increasing social support through a moderation buddy. CONCLUSIONS: Optimisation strategies focus on increasing the support and level of information available to moderators and could be considered by other organisations providing similar services

Parents’ perspectives on smartphone acquisition amongst 9- to 12-year-old children in the UK – a behaviour change approach

Smartphone ownership has increased rapidly over the past decade, including amongst children and young people. Evidence is mixed in terms of the impact of smartphones on this population; with a number of benefits cited as well as a large number of risks. Given the pace of change in this area, research is sparse, including research to understand the influences on when children and young people acquire a smartphone. This is important because parents report struggling with deciding when to give their child a smartphone. This qualitative study applies the Behaviour Change Wheel to in-depth interviews, with a diverse sample of 11 parents, to report the barriers and enablers to parents giving children their first smartphone between the ages of 9 and 12 years old. Enablers include aspects of the physical and social environment, such as children starting to walk to school or preparing to move to secondary school, as well as the influence of other parents and children. Parents’ skills are a barrier whilst their beliefs about the consequences of their child owning a smartphone are a mix of barriers and enablers. Recommendations for interventions include age restrictions, regulations, parental training, education and guidance to support parental decision-making