Reducing Self-Stigma Among Individuals with History of Childhood Maltreatment

Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene (RFMH)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Help-Seeking Behavior; Child Neglect; Child Abuse; Stigma, Social

Treatments: Behavioral: Video

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05818228

8453

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full 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.

Enrollment: 685 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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685 participants in 2 patient groups

Video with Childhood Maltreatment-Related Content

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will view a video of an actor describing the story of an individual who experienced childhood maltreatment and how they overcame its effects on their life.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Video

Video without Childhood Maltreatment Content

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants will view a lifestyle video of an actor describing their day-to-day experiences, without any childhood maltreatment-related themes.