Beneficial and Harmful Effects of Reducing Public Suicide Stigma
1 other identifier
interventional
1,800
1 country
1
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.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Feb 2021
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
February 11, 2021
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
February 16, 2021
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
February 19, 2021
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
March 19, 2021
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
March 19, 2021
CompletedJune 10, 2021
June 1, 2021
28 days
February 11, 2021
June 9, 2021
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Stigma subscale of the Stigma of Suicide Scale short form (SOSS-SF)
Batterham al. (2013) The Stigma of Suicide Scale. Psychometric properties and correlates of the stigma of suicide. Crisis 34(1):13-21
Immediately after the intervention (t1)
Secondary Outcomes (7)
Stigma subscale of the Stigma of Suicide Scale short form (SOSS-SF)
Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS)
Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Cognitions Concerning Suicide Scale (CCSS)
Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
General help-seeking questionnaire suicidal ideation subscale (GHSQ-SI)
Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Current suicidality
Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
- +2 more secondary outcomes
Study Arms (6)
Contact Video
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this group will watch a video of a person talking about his recovery after attempting suicide.
Contact Text
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this group will read a personal story of a person who survived a suicide attempt.
Education Video
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this group will watch a video of a psychiatrist presenting facts about suicide and suicide prevention.
Education Text
EXPERIMENTALParticipants randomized to this group will read a text containing facts about suicide and suicide prevention.
Control Contact
PLACEBO COMPARATORParticipants randomized to this group will read a personal story of a person who survived a heart attack.
Control Education
PLACEBO COMPARATORParticipants randomized to this group will read a text containing facts about heart-attacks and their prevention.
Interventions
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Participants need to be at least 18 years old, speak German and provide online informed consent.
You may not qualify if:
- Persons who self-report to have experienced suicidality within three months before baseline will be excluded.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Ulm University
Ulm, 89075, Germany
Related Publications (1)
Oexle N, Luhr M, Valacchi D, Rusch N. A web-based pilot randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of education and contact-based interventions in reducing public suicide stigma. BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Jan 23;25(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-06406-7.
PMID: 39849424DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT
- Purpose
- OTHER
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Jun.-Prof. Dr. Nathalie Oexle
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
February 11, 2021
First Posted
February 16, 2021
Study Start
February 19, 2021
Primary Completion
March 19, 2021
Study Completion
March 19, 2021
Last Updated
June 10, 2021
Record last verified: 2021-06