Clinical trial NCT06440798: Mental Health Content and Mental Health Outcomes
Official title: Examining the Effects of Mental Health Content on Help-Seeking and Self-Diagnosing Behavior: Cross-sectional Survey Study
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Conditions: Help-Seeking Behavior
Psych
Depression
Anxiety
Stress
Keywords: Mental Health Content
Lead sponsor: Yale-NUS College
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2024-06-04
Enrollment: 600
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 34
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: ECOLOGIC_OR_COMMUNITY
Time perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Recruiting a representative sample of around 600 people through the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the general public in Singapore through physical posters or online platforms (e.g., the university's Work Scheme website, and research groups on Telegram).

Brief summary: The study will aim to explore the relationship between mental health content on social media and health behavior, addressing a gap in empirical research. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, a survey with over 600 participants will examine associations between exposure to mental health content and behaviors like help-seeking and self-diagnosis.

Detailed description: Background: Mental health content has recently surged in popularity across social media. However, current empirical research lacks a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between mental health content and health behaviour.

Objective: This study will aim to address this gap by examining different types of mental health content and their relationship to behavior. Specifically, it will explore whether exposure to mental health content will be associated with either positive behaviors, like help-seeking, or maladaptive ones, such as self-diagnosing.

Methods: Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior, a cross-sectional epidemiological survey will be conducted with over 600 participants to answer the research questions. Baseline measures will include participants' exposure to various types of mental health content, and mental well-being (depression, anxiety, and scores from the DASS-21). The outcome measures of interest will be help-seeking attitude (IASMHS) and self-diagnosing (SELF-I) behavior.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Enrollment is restricted to healthy adults between 21-34 (or 18-34 for university students)
* Use at least one social media platform (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X)
* Participants need to be able to read and understand English.
* Participants must also have lived in Singapore for at least 2 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Anyone who does not feel comfortable answering questions related to mental health and exposure to mental health-related content online.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Help-Seeking Behaviors
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
measure: Self-Diagnosing Behaviors for Mental Health
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Singapore
country: Singapore
facility: Yale-NUS
Study officials:
affiliation: Yale-NUS College
name: Sundarimaa Erdembileg
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: