Clinical trial NCT04756219: Beneficial and Harmful Effects of Reducing Public Suicide Stigma
Official title: Beneficial and Harmful Effects of Reducing Public Suicide Stigma
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Public Suicide Stigma
Keywords: Suicide
Stigma
General public
Suicide prevention
Lead sponsor: University of Ulm
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-02-16
Enrollment: 1800
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: There is growing evidence that negative attitudes towards persons affected by suicide (i.e. persons who experience suicidality, persons who lost a loved one to suicide), so called public suicide stigma, is harmful for suicide prevention, for example by reducing social support, inhibiting help-seeking for suicidality and increasing distress as well as suicidality among stigmatized persons. Reducing public suicide stigma could therefore be an important factor of successful suicide prevention. However, reducing public suicide stigma could also be harmful, for example by increasing attitudes that suicidal behaviour is a normal and acceptable solution for crisis situations, which could decrease help-seeking for suicidality and encourage suicidal behaviour. This project will (1) develop four interventions (contact-based vs. education based, video vs. text) hypothesized to reduce public suicide stigma, (2) determine the efficacy of the four interventions with regard to reducing public suicide stigma, (3) identify additional harmful (e.g. normalization of suicidal behaviour) and beneficial intervention effects (e.g. improved attitudes to seek help) and (4) investigate pathways explaining intervention effects.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Participants need to be at least 18 years old, speak German and provide online informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

Persons who self-report to have experienced suicidality within three months before baseline will be excluded.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Stigma subscale of the Stigma of Suicide Scale short form (SOSS-SF)
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention (t1)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Stigma subscale of the Stigma of Suicide Scale short form (SOSS-SF)
timeFrame: Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
measure: Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS)
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
measure: Cognitions Concerning Suicide Scale (CCSS)
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
measure: General help-seeking questionnaire suicidal ideation subscale (GHSQ-SI)
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
measure: Current suicidality
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
measure: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), negative affect subscale
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
measure: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2)
timeFrame: Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Ulm
country: Germany
facility: Ulm University
Study officials:
References: