Social Media and Anxiety in Youth: A Narrative Review and Clinical Update.

Social media use and related research on psychiatric symptoms continue to increase and evolve rapidly. The potential bidirectional relationships and correlations between social media use and anxiety seem to be understudied. We examine prior research focused on social media use and anxiety disorders, and thus far, correlations have been weak. Nevertheless, these associations may be poorly understood but important. Fear of missing out has been considered a moderator in earlier research. We discuss the limitations of previous research, guidance for clinicians and caregivers, and challenges for future studies in this area.

Harnessing Youth Engagement With Mental Health TikTok and Its Potential as a Public Health Tool.

At different institutions, we were seeing the same trend-TikTok arising more in discussion during appointments. It is hard to accurately quantify the mental health-related content on Tik-Tok because it is ever-increasing. Nevertheless, national news outlets have reported on the worrisome trend of self-diagnosis of mental health disorders via TikTok. In 2018, Shafi et al. described the importance of understanding the role of social media in adolescents' lives.1 Four years later, that role continues to evolve and to become ever more prominent. As of September 2021, 25% of TikTok users were 10 to 19 years old and 22.4% were 20 to 29 years old. That is an estimated 172,250,000 users.2 As of February 2022, #anxiety registers 11.7 billion, #ADHD 9.4 billion, #BPD 3.9 billion, #depressed 3.6 billion, #bipolar 2.1 billion, and #DID 1.5 billion views.

Psychiatry Residents as Medical Student Educators: a Review of the Literature.

OBJECTIVE: Professional organizations and medical schools need trainees as medical student educators. There are limited data describing the training of residents and fellows as educators. There are also limited data describing the impact of trainee educators on medical student performance and clerkship experience. METHODS: A narrative literature search was done in PubMed, Embase, and PsychINFO from inception to January 1, 2021, to explore the approaches, methods, and outcomes (e.g., potential benefits) of psychiatric trainees as medical student educators. A total of 630 papers were screened using title and abstract, of which 20 met inclusion criteria. Studies were categorized into four quality tiers based on methodology. RESULTS: Studies described how training programs utilized trainees as student educators, and various methods of teaching instruction. Residents and fellows valued being educators and reported these experiences increased teaching abilities. Medical students rated trainee educators well. Resident-led teaching initiatives were associated with increased exam scores in one study. Data were limited by low survey response rates, qualitative (i.e., subjective) inquiry, and heterogeneity in teaching and training modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Due to a lack of high-quality studies, definitive conclusions cannot be drawn about the effectiveness of psychiatry trainees as medical educators nor about how to best train them as educators. Nevertheless, literature suggests that incorporating trainees as educators both augments resident and fellow training and enhances medical student experience and performance. Future research should assess needs and standardize methods, curricula, and outcome measures more systematically.

Addressing Well-being, Burnout, and Professional Fulfillment in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Trainees During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Implementation of a Virtual Balint-Like Group: a Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: Physicians, including psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees, are at higher risk of burnout compared to the average working population. The COVID-19 pandemic heightens this risk. This pilot aims to enhance professional fulfillment and support while decreasing risk and prevalence of burnout in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) trainees through virtual delivery of a Balint-like group incorporating brief emotional awareness modules. METHODS: Six CAP trainees participated. Eight 60-min sessions held every 2 weeks were co-facilitated by a psychologist and psychiatrist who developed the curricular content. Five of the eight semi-structured sessions combined a brief emotional awareness enhancing module with a Balint-based approach to case review. The authors assessed trainee well-being, professional fulfillment, and sense of professional support pre- and post-intervention with the Well-being Index (WBI), Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI), and the authors' own supplemental survey. Descriptive statistics were reported. RESULTS: Trainees found the curriculum feasible and useful. Surveys showed a reduction in burnout from three to zero participants (p = 0.03) and specific improvements in enthusiasm (p = 0.013), empathy with colleagues (p = 0.093), and connectedness with colleagues (p = 0.007) and patients (p = 0.042) at work. There were also improvements in happiness (p = 0.042) and valued contributions at work (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: A novel well-being curriculum focused on combining brief emotional awareness enhancing modules with a Balint-like approach enhances professional fulfillment and a sense of professional support and decreases the risk and prevalence of burnout, even when delivered virtually to a group of CAP fellows. Results support the planned expansion of this low-cost, high-value intervention for trainee well-being.