A Toolkit to Assist Child and Adolescent Providers in Assessing Problematic Internet Use and Cyberbullying in an Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic

Social media has become a transformational part of daily life in the United States. Currently, there are few assessment tools and no standard of care when it comes to assessing internet use, social media, and cyberbullying among child and adolescent patients. Problematic internet use (PIU) and cyberbullying can both significantly and negatively impact the mental health of children and adolescents. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of an online toolkit implementation for a Southwest Florida (SWFL) outpatient psychiatry office. A pre/post one group design was used. A convenience sample of 13 healthcare providers was recruited from one outpatient clinic in the Eastern United States. Participated healthcare providers’ perceptions of cyberbullying were assessed before and after an educational presentation. The survey was used to assess changes in providers’ knowledge, confidence, and awareness in the topic and willingness to use tested scales. Provider’s self-reported knowledge, comfort and awareness regarding problematic internet use and cyberbullying increased significantly from pre to post-survey. A Wilcoxon signed ranks test indicated that post-intervention mean score ranks were statistically significantly higher than pre-intervention mean score ranks (Z=-2.201, p 0.028). The mean difference from the pretest increased from 4.63 to 5.85. Providers who completed the presentation of this toolkit reported they agreed (N=3) or strongly agreed (N=3) that the education was a benefit to them. The educational presentation and access to provider toolkit improved the knowledge, comfort, and awareness of mental health providers regarding cyberbullying and problematic internet use