Real Risks of the Online World

Real Risks of the Online World: Association of Problematic Online Dating App Use with Mental and Sexual Health Outcomes in Sexual Minorities

Development and validation of questionnaire/scale to assess problematic online dating app (ODA) use in a sub-cohort of the SwissPrEPared cohort study (validation sample: n=229). Longitudinal design to assess the association of problematic ODA use and sexual/mental health and substance use outcomes. No randomised trial, only 1 cohort which will be stratified according to severity/risk of problematic ODA use.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sexual Health
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: to develop and validate a scale measuring problematic online dating app (ODA) use in sexual minorities

Detailed Description

This project may fill an important gap of knowledge in a research area that has taken on major importance over the past few years, and has thus the potential to impact several major public health recommendations. First, considering the high penetrance of dating apps in the men who have sex with men (MSM) population (reaching 78.2% in a recent report), more than 62,000 MSM in Switzerland are estimated to use such applications. How many of them suffer from addiction or problmatic use remains unclear and our project will be the first to provide estimates of the prevalence of problematic ODA use in this particular population. Second, our project will help to clarify the impact of online dating app usage on health outcomes. By identifying drivers of the current HIV/(sexual transmitted infections (STI) epidemic in Switzerland, our project might thus provide critical information to shape future prevention measures aiming at further reducing HIV/STI incidence rates. Third, because sexual risk-taking increases with substance use and depression, it remains crucial to detect mental health outcomes early and provide adequate care to populations at high risk of HIV, or other STI, transmission. Fourth, our study might identify a new phenomenon related to high-risk sexual behaviour that may not be limited to the MSM group, but could also affect other, larger populations interacting and meeting through online communication channels. Considering that more than 41 million people are currently using dating apps in Europe, our findings might have a substantial impact on the general population. Finally, this project might provide the very first insights on the interplay between online dating, substance use, mental health and sexual risk taking. This new understanding could then help Switzerland create additional measures for preventing HIV transmission and reach the UNAIDS targets for HIV elimination by 2030.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 229
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Zürich, Switzerland, 8001
    • Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

HIV-negative SwissPrEPared participants (≥ 18 years old) who are active online dating app users.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• currently engaging in online dating (i.e., using applications/websites with the aim to meet potential relationship or sexual partners or having used them actively in the past 12 months)
• Participating in the SwissPrEPared study at center Checkpoint Zurich
• German speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

- Potential participants will be excluded if they are unable to follow study procedures.

For Inclusion/Exclusion at the SwissPrEPared study see: NCT03893188 at clinicaltrials.gov

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

HIV-negative SwissPrePared participants who are active Online Dating App (ODA) users

Diagnostic test: to develop and validate a scale measuring problematic online dating app (ODA) use in sexual minorities; Qualitative part: scale development and validation with testing in 3 different participant samples, i.e. preliminary testing (n=10), pilot testing (n=30-60), validation (n=300). Quantitative part: longitudinal part conducted in the validation sample of the qualitative study part (n=300) with the aim to evaluate the association of scores in the problematic ODA use scale with sexual health and mental health outcomes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Develop and validate a scale measuring problematic online dating app (ODA) use	Scale development and validation will follow the FDA guidance for patient-reported outcomes and recommendations on questionnaire research. Preliminary testing, pilot-testing, and validation will be conducted in participants from the SwissPrEPared Study	single measurement (one day per participant)
Associated mental, sexual health and substance use outcomes of problematic ODA use	Evaluate the association of problematic ODA use with: Sexual health outcomes (incident cases of STI, such as syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia, or HIV), over 6 months Mental health outcomes: prevalence of psychiatric disorders, measured at baseline and 12 months, using validated questionnaires Substance use outcomes: Lifetime, 12-month, 3-month prevalence and frequency rates	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Zurich
• Collaborators: University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich; Center for Forensic Hair Analysis, Zurich

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 23, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): July 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 13, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 15, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): January 19, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 28, 2025
• Last Verified: January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2020-01545; 10001C_192814 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Swiss National Science Foundation)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No