Digital media or device-related problems were present in 19.2% of pediatric psychiatric crisis encounters, according to a study published March 2 in JAACAP Open.
Researchers from University of Rochester Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital and Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts conducted a retrospective chart review of 3,710 encounters involving youth ages 6 to 17 who presented to Boston Children’s Hospital in a psychiatric crisis in 2021 and 2022. They found youth with digital media-related problems were more likely to carry a mood disorder diagnosis and were nearly twice as likely to have multiple psychiatric crisis visits during the study period.
“Digital media is now woven into nearly every aspect of adolescents’ lives, but until now, we’ve had limited data on how often it actually plays a role in psychiatric crises,” said Meredith Gansner, MD, the study’s lead researcher and now an assistant professor in the Division of Psychiatry at University of Rochester Medicine Golisano Children’s.
Female patients were significantly more likely to present with crises involving high-risk online sexual behaviors, while male patients more often presented with device-access conflicts and excessive use, the study found. Encounters involving digital media problems also carried higher rates of suicidal ideation and recommendations for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization.
The findings support routine screening for digital media use during psychiatric crisis evaluations as pediatric mental health emergencies continue to strain hospitals across the nation.
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