Reducing Depression-related Stigma and Increasing-treatment Seeking Among Black Adolescents

Yale University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Depression; Racism

Treatments: Behavioral: Short videos

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04890990

2000028980

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purposes of this study are to:

1. test among adolescent the utility of brief video-based interventions to reduce stigma-related attitudes and increase help-seeking intentions toward depression;
2. examine the role of race (Black vs other) as an independent factor in the primary outcome.

Full description

Intervention videos will each be of ~120-second duration and feature an underage female professional (age 16) acting as a simulated patient. All three videos will focus on her as an empowered presenter with depression sharing her personal story regarding depression and describe how social supports from family, friends, and community, as well as professional help assisted her in overcoming symptoms of the illness.

Assessments will occur at baseline and post-intervention, and will include:

1. Demographics (baseline only);
2. Primary outcome: Depression-related stigma(Depression Stigma Scale [DSS]) summary score.
3. Secondary outcomes: a. DSS individual items; b. Help-seeking (General Help-Seeking Questionnaire [GHSQ]) summary score and individual items; and bc Racial attitudes: feelings thermometers.

The investigators intend to randomly assign ~1,000 individuals aged 14-18 as follows:

Subjects oversampled for Black participants (50% Black; 50% other);

Randomized, in equal proportions, and stratified by race, to view one of three ~120-second videos of a girl with:

1. No depression control (Black; BC);
2. Depression (Black, following same script as in our earlier study (Amsalem and Martin, 2021), DB); and
3. Depression adjusted (Black, with script adjusted based on input from focus group of Black girls and women; DBa).

Enrollment: 1,291 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 14 to 18 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• English-speaking
• Living in the US
• Ages 14 - 18

Exclusion criteria

• None

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,291 participants in 3 patient groups

Black girl, control (BC)

Active Comparator group

Description:

\~120-second video of a Black adolescent girl, without depression

Treatment:

Behavioral: Short videos

Black girl, depressed (BD)

Active Comparator group

Description:

\~120-second video of a Black adolescent girl, depressed

Treatment:

Behavioral: Short videos

Black girl, depressed, adjusted (BDa)

Active Comparator group

Description:

\~120-second video of a Black adolescent girl, depressed - adjusted for the specifics of being a Black girl (as informed by a focus group of Black girls and women)

Treatment:

Behavioral: Short videos