Youth Bullying and Social Media: A Contemporary Dilemma

Ann P. Haas, Ph.D. is the senior director of education and prevention at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

Her work has focused in particular on suicide and suicide risk among teens and college students, LGBT populations and veterans. In 2005, she coauthored the chapter on youth suicide in a volume produced by the Annenberg Foundation’s Adolescent Mental Health Initiative, and was the lead author of a 2011 consensus report titled Suicide and Suicide Risk in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Populations: Review and Recommendations, which appeared in the January 2011 edition of the Journal of Homosexuality. She serves on the Task Force on LGBT Populations of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

Dr. Haas’ primary interest is in developing research-based interventions for suicide prevention. Over the last decade, she has developed and directed AFSP’s Interactive Screening Program (ISP), an anonymous online method to engage individuals with untreated mental health problems to seek help. Initially designed as an outreach tool for college and university students, the ISP has been adapted for many other populations including corporate employees, law enforcement personnel, veterans and military service members. Before coming to AFSP, Dr. Haas was Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Sciences at The City University of New York, and held appointments at New York Medical College and the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Montrose, NY.

Brian Mustanski, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences and directs the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program at Northwestern University. 

A central focus of his research is on the clustering of psychological, behavioral, and physical health, particularly as they relate to HIV in vulnerable populations. Dr. Mustanski received his doctorate in Psychology from Indiana University, where he trained extensively at the Kinsey Institute. He has been the Principal Investigator for multiple National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and other foundation research and training awards, including being named a William T. Grant Foundation Scholar. The majority of his research focuses on the health and development of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. In addition, he conducts applied research on HIV prevention among young men who have sex with men (MSM). Dr. Mustanski was an early adopter of using the Internet for health research and his ongoing work seeks to apply new technology to improve research and interventions.

Dr. Mustanski also conducts research in the area of psychiatric and behavioral genetics. In 2005 he co-authored the first genome scan of male sexual orientation and he is currently the Principal Investigator of a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded natural experiment to study gene-environment interaction. Dr. Mustanski serves as a Co-Investigator on multiple other studies of gene-environment interplay, helping to serve as a bridge between biomedical and behavioral scientists. Dr. Mustanski is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a focus on the treatment of sexual and relationship problems.

Jonathan Singer, PhD, is an assistant professor of social work in the College of Health Professions and Social Work at Temple University. 

His clinical and research interests focus on family-based interventions for suicidal and cyber-bullied youth, service access and service utilization, and use of technology in education and clinical practice. Dr. Singer’s recent research has focused on how technologies such as podcasts and social networking sites can be used to disseminate information about prevention and intervention of youth suicidal behaviors, cyber-bullying, and social work education and training.