Adkins EC, Zalta AK, Boley RA, Glover A, Karnik NS, Schueller SM. (2017). Exploring the potential of technology-based mental health services for homeless youth: A qualitative study. Psychological Services. 14(2):238-245. doi: 10.1037/ser0000120
Researchers recruited 24 homeless young adults (aged 18-22) referred by case managers at a homeless shelter to participate in focus groups. Researchers wanted to collect perspectives on mental health and mobile technology to guide development of technology-based mental health resources for homeless young people. Discussions were thematically coded and coding concluded once no additional themes emerged with additional focus groups. All participants reported owning a mobile phone and most often reported using them for communication, music, and social media. Participants’ experiences with mental health services were mostly negative, reporting not feeling listened to by mental health care providers, a lack of rapport with their provider, and a sense of over prescribing of medications. Positive experiences with mental health services included good rapport with a mental health care provider, empathy from providers, and being helped with what participants considered important. Participants were interested in using technology for depression, anxiety, self-harm, abuse, substance use, and insomnia. Participants also wanted digital approaches that addressed anger management and relationships. Participants generally did not endorse use of apps that tracked and used passive information from their phone (e.g. phone usage or location). Participants reported being open to tracking if they knew how the information was used, if they could choose what information was tracked, and if tracking of their information clearly benefited them.