背景:年轻人广泛使用短信来通过基于聊天的求助热线进行交流和寻求心理健康支持。然而,书面交流缺乏非语言线索,语言的使用是一个人的心理健康状况的重要信息来源,被认为是精神病理学的标志。
目的:本研究的目的是调查语言使用情况,在青少年和年轻人的聊天咨询服务中,其性别差异以及与精神症状存在的关联。
方法:对于本研究,对2020年5月至2021年7月期间德国基于信使的儿童和青少年心理聊天咨询服务(“krisenchat”)的匿名聊天内容进行了分析.总的来说,使用语言查询和单词计数评估了来自6962个用户的661,131条消息,考虑以下语言变量:第一人称单数和复数代词,否定,积极和消极的情绪词,洞察力的话,和因果关系词。进行了描述性分析,并评估了这些变量的性别差异。最后,二元逻辑回归分析检验了语言变量对精神症状存在的预测价值.
结果:在所有分析的聊天中,第一人称单数代词使用频率最高(965,542/8,328,309,11.6%),其次是积极情绪词(408,087/8,328,309,4.9%),洞察力词(341,460/8,328,309,4.1%),否定(316,475/8,328,309,3.8%),负面情绪词(266,505/8,328,309,3.2%),因果关系词(241,520/8,328,309,2.9%),和第一人称复数代词(499,698/8,328,309,0.6%)。与男性用户相比,女性用户和识别为多样化的用户使用的第一人称单数代词和洞察力词明显更多(均P<.001)。女性用户使用的次数明显多于男性用户或识别为多样化的用户(P=.007)。负面情绪词也有类似的发现(P=0.01)。通过语言变量预测精神症状的回归模型显着,并表明第一人称单数代词的使用增加(比值比[OR]1.05),否定(或1.11),负面情绪词(OR1.15)与精神症状的存在呈正相关,而第一人称复数代词(OR0.39)和因果词(OR0.90)的使用增加与精神症状的存在负相关。自杀,自我伤害,抑郁症与语言变量的相关性最为显著。
结论:这项研究强调了在聊天咨询环境中检查语言特征的重要性。通过将心理语言学的发现整合到咨询实践中,辅导员可以更好地了解用户的心理过程,并提供更有针对性的支持。例如,某些语言特征,比如大量使用第一人称单数代词,否定,或者负面情绪的话,可能表明存在精神症状,特别是在女性用户和识别为多样化的用户中。需要进一步的研究来深入研究聊天咨询服务中的语言过程。
BACKGROUND: Text messaging is widely used by young people for communicating and seeking mental health support through chat-based helplines. However, written communication lacks nonverbal cues, and language usage is an important source of information about a person\'s mental health state and is known to be a marker for psychopathology.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the
study was to investigate language usage, and its gender differences and associations with the presence of psychiatric symptoms within a chat counseling service for adolescents and young adults.
METHODS: For this
study, the anonymized chat content of a German messenger-based psychosocial chat counseling service for children and adolescents (\"krisenchat\") between May 2020 and July 2021 was analyzed. In total, 661,131 messages from 6962 users were evaluated using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, considering the following linguistic variables: first-person singular and plural pronouns, negations, positive and negative emotion words, insight words, and causation words. Descriptive analyses were performed, and gender differences of those variables were evaluated. Finally, a binary logistic regression analysis examined the predictive value of linguistic variables on the presence of psychiatric symptoms.
RESULTS: Across all analyzed chats, first-person singular pronouns were used most frequently (965,542/8,328,309, 11.6%), followed by positive emotion words (408,087/8,328,309, 4.9%), insight words (341,460/8,328,309, 4.1%), negations (316,475/8,328,309, 3.8%), negative emotion words (266,505/8,328,309, 3.2%), causation words (241,520/8,328,309, 2.9%), and first-person plural pronouns (499,698/8,328,309, 0.6%). Female users and users identifying as diverse used significantly more first-person singular pronouns and insight words than male users (both P<.001). Negations were significantly more used by female users than male users or users identifying as diverse (P=.007). Similar findings were noted for negative emotion words (P=.01). The regression model of predicting psychiatric symptoms by linguistic variables was significant and indicated that increased use of first-person singular pronouns (odds ratio [OR] 1.05), negations (OR 1.11), and negative emotion words (OR 1.15) was positively associated with the presence of psychiatric symptoms, whereas increased use of first-person plural pronouns (OR 0.39) and causation words (OR 0.90) was negatively associated with the presence of psychiatric symptoms. Suicidality, self-harm, and depression showed the most significant correlations with linguistic variables.
CONCLUSIONS: This
study highlights the importance of examining linguistic features in chat counseling contexts. By integrating psycholinguistic findings into counseling practice, counselors may better understand users\' psychological processes and provide more targeted support. For instance, certain linguistic features, such as high use of first-person singular pronouns, negations, or negative emotion words, may indicate the presence of psychiatric symptoms, particularly among female users and users identifying as diverse. Further research is needed to provide an in-depth look into language processes within chat counseling services.