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Adolescents with subclinical depression are at high risk of developing mental disorders. Early interventions are effective but expensive. Affordable and accessible mental health services are needed. This multimethod study obtained its sample from the database of the Finnish national chat room service and describes the usage of the service among young people in Finland. All chats between 1.1-31.12.2018 were extracted and analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The usage frequency was analysed with descriptive statistics, while the specific content of the chat topics was first categorised with content analysis and then quantified and analysed using descriptive statistics. The association between the demographic characteristics and the usage were analysed. A total of 839 young people used chat room services. The great majority of the chat users were girls, and half were 12-14 years old. The use of the chat room varied in terms of the number of words and the duration of the chat discussions. Based on the chat room topics, young people had complex life situations with psychological distress, difficulties related to their social living environment, or they were involved in risky behaviour. The gender and the age of the users influenced their chat room usage. The results of this study can be used in the development of mental health services for young people.

Objective: To describe web messaging patterns and the content of web messages among young people in a Finnish national online service., Methods: A descriptive mixed-method was used. The data consisted of text-based web messaging communication between young people and a counsellor in a nationwide online service between 1 January and 31 December 2018. Web messaging patterns were analysed using descriptive statistics. The content of the messages was analysed with thematic analysis and qualitative results were presented. In addition, the factors associated with messaging patterns and content were analysed., Results: A total of 1941 messages were sent by 1354 young people. Most of them were between 12 and 17 years old and females. Less than one-fifth of young people had multiple two-way discussions with counsellor. The total period of two-way discussions and the number of words in each message varied widely. The number of words was lower in messages sent by males. The content of the messages was divided into three main themes: interpersonal relationships and environment (Social relationships), oneself (Construction of self), and health-related problems and support received from professionals (Health and wellbeing). The young people's messages mostly contained topics related to the main theme of 'Social environment'., Conclusion: Most young people sent one message only. Messages ranged from simple, single messages to complex texts describing the daily life of young people. Girls were more active in messaging, and they wrote longer texts., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Background: Depression in adolescence is common. Less than half of the adolescents with depression receive mental health care; furthermore, treatment tends to be suspended, and its success rates are low. There is a need for these adolescents to have a safe place to share their thoughts. Studies have shown that writing may be a useful treatment method for people with mental health problems., Objective: This study aims to describe the use of an electronic diary (e-diary) among adolescents with depressive symptoms., Methods: This paper describes a substudy of a randomized controlled trial. We used a mixed-methods approach to understand the way in which e-diaries were used by participants in the intervention under the randomized controlled trial. Data were collected during 2008-2010 at 2 university hospitals in Finland. Study participants (N=89) were 15-17-year-old adolescents who had been referred to an adolescent outpatient psychiatric clinic due to depressive symptoms. Participants were instructed to use the e-diary at least once a week to describe their thoughts, feelings, and moods. The content of the e-diary data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive content analysis., Results: Overall, 53% (47/89) of the adolescents used the e-diary. Most of them (39/47, 83%) logged into the program during the first week, and about one-third (19/47, 40%) logged into the e-diary weekly as suggested. The number of words used in the e-diary per each log ranged between 8 and 1442 words. The 3 topics most often written about in the e-diary were related to mental health problems (mental disorder), social interaction (relationship), and one's own development (identity)., Conclusions: An e-diary may be a usable tool to reflect experiences and thoughts, especially among adolescents who have signs of depression. The results of this study can be used to develop user-centered electronic health applications that allow users to express their own thoughts and experiences in ways other than systematic mood monitoring., (©Kiki Metsäranta, Marjo Kurki, Maritta Valimaki, Minna Anttila. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 20.02.2019.)