Clinical trial NCT05818228: Reducing Self-Stigma Among Individuals with History of Childhood Maltreatment
Official title: Reducing Self-Stigma Among Individuals with History of Childhood Maltreatment: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Stigma, Social
Child Abuse
Child Neglect
Help-Seeking Behavior
Lead sponsor: Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc.
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Columbia University
First posted: 2023-04-18
Enrollment: 685
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 80
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Individuals who report experiencing any kind of abuse during childhood report shame and self-blame, often leading to self-stigma and a reluctance to reveal their experiences and seek help. Such stigma may aggravate the mental health consequences of child maltreatment (CM).

The aim of the proposed study is twofold: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief video-based intervention in reducing self-stigma among individuals who experienced childhood abuse and/or maltreatment, and (2) to increase openness to seeking treatment.

Detailed description: Prior research suggests that social contact-based interventions are the most efficient way of reducing stigma. This study aims to address self-stigma and empower individuals who self-reported experiencing any kind of abuse during childhood and increase their openness to seeking help, if needed.

A total of 1000 adults with self-report experience of any kind of childhood abuse will be recruited to participate in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) testing the efficacy of the intervention. Participants will be randomized into one of two arms: 1) A 2-minute video intervention in which a CM survivor (presented by either a female or male actor) shares their personal CM experience and describes how they were able to overcome feelings of shame and self-blame to seek mental health care; or 2) A 2-minute control video using the same actors, but without CM-related content. Both videos will be preceded by and immediately followed by questionnaires assessing self-stigma and openness to seeking treatment. An additional assessment of emotional engagement will be added immediately following intervention delivery. Following the intervention, there will be a 30-day follow-up to examine potential long-term effects.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 18-80
* US resident
* Individuals who endorse yes to one of the following items: physical aggression in family or household, emotional or verbal abuse in family or household, sexual abuse or inappropriate sexual experiences, negligence - physical or emotional, mental illness or substance abuse at home, incarceration of family member
* Fluent in English and able to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* N/A

Primary outcomes:
measure: Self-Stigma Questionnaire - Post-Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately post-intervention
measure: Self-Stigma Questionnaire - Follow-Up
timeFrame: 30 days post-intervention
measure: Help Seeking Intentions (3 items of the ATSPPH) - Post-Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately post-intervention
measure: Help Seeking Intentions (3 items of the ATSPPH) - Follow-Up
timeFrame: 30 days post-intervention
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: New York
country: United States
facility: New York State Psychiatric Institute
state: New York
Study officials:
affiliation: NYSPI and Columbia University
name: Yuval Neria, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: