
Ian RiversUniversity of Strathclyde · Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Ian Rivers
Doctor of Philosophy
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Introduction
Publications
Publications (52)
There is no doubt that social media platforms are an integral and influential aspect of the digital age. The number of platforms available to users has rapidly proliferated and changed in response to user practices and interests. In this chapter, we review research relating to social media’s impact on mental health. We discuss many of the applicati...
The digital tools we cover in this chapter include stand-alone apps for mental health (no clinician involved) and others that are designed to be used in conjunction with professional mental health treatment (online or in person). For clinicians, it is essential to be familiar with the tools in order to make sound recommendations to clients and to l...
Social psychology tells us that identity evolves through a process of comparing ourselves with similar and different others. Our identities are shaped by our families and their families before them, where we live, with whom we associate and, of course, our prejudices, likes, and dislikes. Much of what we know about the evolution of identity relates...
In the previous chapter, we examined the variety of ways mental health information and support can be accessed online. The increase in the prevalence of mental health disorders associated with the pandemic has been of widespread concern (e.g., Kessler et al., 2022; Pierce et al., 2020); anxiety, depression, substance abuse, suicidal behaviors, PTSD...
The digital universe is home to a vast trove of content about mental health and mental illness. A Google search on “mental health” in March 2023 found 3,860,000,000 hits in less than one second. While online mental health information extends and augments other sources of information, for many people it has become the sole source of material. That i...
Digital technology has brought numerous benefits to society, but as with any innovation, it brings both opportunity and risks. We define risk as the possibility of exposure to danger, harm, hazards, or peril. Note that harm does not automatically occur, but risk brings with it the potential for negative outcomes.
Our aim in this second edition of Mental Health in the Digital Age was to reflect upon learning since the COVID-19 pandemic and consider how mental health and well-being can be supported by digital technologies. As we emerge from the pandemic, words such as “hybrid,” “flexible,” and “agile” have become part of everyday speech. They reflect the fact...
My morning routine begins with reading several newspapers online (while enjoying a cup of coffee). I then read the local print newspaper (with another cup). It is important to me that I stay abreast of important events in my country and the world. However, I often feel overwhelmed by the number of important happenings and issues that are in the hea...
In this chapter, the editors synthesize the learning from each of the chapters and offer a perspective on the challenges to inclusion, integration, affirmation, and equity as a result of institutionalization, often by those who see young people as “incapacitated” rather than agents of positive change. They discuss the roles of allies in promoting v...
A systematic review was conducted into the effect of interleaving the order of examples of concepts in terms of both memory of items and transfer to new items. This concept has important implications for how and when teachers present examples in the classroom. A total of 26 studies met the inclusion criteria; a subset of 17 studies (with 32 constit...
Education Scotland’s (2018) framework for interventions for equity supporting the Scottish Attainment Challenge highlights the promotion of high quality learning and the effective use of evidence and data. This study protocol outlines the methodology of a systematic review of the literature into the use of interleaving to facilitate the effective l...
The aim of this study is to understand, qualitatively, the ways in which school students from England and the US engaged with campaign messages during two national elections. We combined data from eight focus groups conducted in four schools in England (2 primary/elementary and 2 secondary/high; N = 60) and individual interviews conducted in one sc...
The absence of longitudinal data relating to experiences of victimization is a perennial problem in adolescent research. Few studies offer the opportunity to explore the developmental trajectories leading to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Although numerous cross-sectional studies have reported that substance abuse (including alcohol consum...
The internet can now be reached by a fingertip on a smart phone and has changed our lives on a fundamental level. However, is mental health enhanced or diminished by this digitisation of our world? Innovation, such as digital technology, is often greeted with fear and suspicion but there is currently little evidence to support this. This book exami...
In her pioneering book, Life on the Screen, MIT professor Sherry Turkle (1995a) was perhaps one of the first to understand the challenges we face as researchers engaging with online environments. In one particular chapter, she tackles the issue of online violence and critiques the discussions that were taking place about engagement with others in m...
The above excerpt illustrates how a 20-year-old user describes his own portrayal of “self” on the social networking service Twitter. Two key issues arise from these three sentences. Firstly, there is his construction of an online identity and how it differs from that which has been constructed offline. Secondly, there is the nature of his engagemen...
The explosion of Internet content relevant to mental health means there are many and varied avenues to obtaining information online about mental health topics. The Internet is always available and has copious amounts of information which can be located easily, anonymously, and generally without cost. Accessibility to the Internet has increased so m...
What is a “friend”? Through the evolution of the World Wide Web, several authors have argued that our understandings about what constitutes friendship and who we consider to be our “friends” has changed. This transformation has, to a certain degree, emerged as a result of the notion of “friending” on social networking and social media platforms suc...
Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as, “a state of well-being in which an individual can realise his or her own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and make a contribution to the community” (http:// www. euro. who. int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/215275/RC63-Fact-sheet-MNH-Eng.pdf?ua=l,...
Digital technology has brought numerous benefits to society, but as with any innovation, it brings both opportunity and risks. Throughout the book, we show how digital technology can enhance mentalealth and also exacerbate mental health vulnerabilities. In this chapter, we focus more generally on the concept of risk, while considering how resilienc...
Social networking sites (SNS) are websites on which members (users) create personal profiles and interact with others. Most profiles include a photo of the person in addition to some personal information — people include more or less profile data as they choose. Some SNS require a confirmation from a person identified as a friend or contact (Facebo...
A virtual world is an “electronic environment that visually mimics complex physical spaces, where people can interact with each other and with virtual objects, and where people are represented by animated characters” (Bainbridge, 2007). The characters, known as avatars, are created by the users.1 The popularity of these virtual worlds increased exp...
The proliferation of digital technology has impacted mental health in several ways: it has greatly increased access to information, it has made possible both positive and negative digital experiences that can ameliorate or exacerbate psychological or emotional problems, and it has made various forms of treatment for mental health issues accessible...
Our aim in writing this book was to review what we know about the opportunities and challenges to mental health we all face in a world that requires us to be increasingly engaged with digital technology. Invariably there will be areas of enquiry that we have omitted (sometimes deliberately) because there is a wealth of evidence published elsewhere,...
Specialists have long known that involvement in bullying in any capacity (as the victim or as the perpetrator) is associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation and behavior, but evidence about which bullying subtype is at greatest risk is more mixed. This online resource presents an authoritative review of the science demonstrating the links be...
Since the mid 1990s developments in affordable personal computing and communication technology have resulted in the almost complete saturation of the household market in terms of internet connectivity and mobile telephone ownership. Most recent figures provided by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) indicate that, in the UK, while internet connect...
This book provides a review of key studies that have shaped the way we view homophobia in educational contexts. Using theories and ideas drawn from various disciplines, the book demonstrates how bullying is a complex social process wherein perpetrators are supported by active confederates, passive bystanders and indifferent onlookers. Homophobic Bu...
Anti-bullying interventions in schools favour approaches that practically tackle the problems in the classroom as well as the playground. However, the effectiveness of curriculum-based interventions is often context specific. A Positive Psychology (PP) approach to tackle bullying focuses upon the individual strengths of pupils rather than behaviour...
Addressing the issue from three perspectives: the student, the teacher, and also the parent or family member, this work provides background information, advice and resources about the causes and nature of school bullying along with strategies to address the behavior successfully. It utilizes both qualitative and quantitative evidence illustrating t...
In February 2002, Stuart Bell initiated a discussion on The British Psychological Society’s Lesbian & Gay Psychology Section e-mail list concerning the possible effects of researchers’ personal investments in their research topics in lesbian, gay and bisexual psychology. Other Section members subsequently contributed to this discussion and took it...
Over the past 10 years, there has been a great deal of research activity exploring the nature and frequency of peer victimisation and bullying behaviour. This paper reports on a three-year study focusing upon the experiences of a sample of lesbians, gay men and bisexual men and women who were bullied at school, and the long-term impact it has had u...
Björkqvist, Lagerspetz, and Kaukiainen [(1992): Aggressive Behavior 18: 117–127] suggested that there are significant differences in the types of aggressive behaviour–direct physical, direct verbal, and indirect‐engaged in and experienced by boys and girls of different ages. This study reports on similar age and sex differences in the types of bull...