Public Suicide StigmaNCT04756219
Beneficial and Harmful Effects of Reducing Public Suicide Stigma
A study testing Contact Video, Contact Text and Education Video in people with Public Suicide Stigma, run by University of Ulm at 1 site in Germany.
Trial 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… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Public Suicide Stigma
- What is being tested?
- Contact Video, Contact Text and Education Video
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 1,800 participants
- Where
- 1 siteGermany
- Study dates
- 19 Feb 2021to 19 Mar 2021
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Participants need to be at least 18 years old, speak German and provide online informed consent.
Who cannot join
- Persons who self-report to have experienced suicidality within three months before baseline will be excluded.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
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.
- Conditions
- Public Suicide Stigma
- Being tested
- Contact Video, Contact Text, Education Video, Education Text
- Keywords
- Suicide, Stigma, General public, Suicide prevention
- Medical subject headings
- Suicide, Social Stigma, Suicide Prevention
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Contact VideoOther
No additional information necessary.
Contact TextOther
No additional information necessary.
Education VideoOther
No additional information necessary.
Education TextOther
No additional information necessary.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Video | Experimental | Participants randomized to this group will watch a video of a person talking about his recovery after attempting suicide. Receives: Other: Contact Video |
| Contact Text | Experimental | Participants randomized to this group will read a personal story of a person who survived a suicide attempt. Receives: Other: Contact Text |
| Education Video | Experimental | Participants randomized to this group will watch a video of a psychiatrist presenting facts about suicide and suicide prevention. Receives: Other: Education Video |
| Education Text | Experimental | Participants randomized to this group will read a text containing facts about suicide and suicide prevention. Receives: Other: Education Text |
| Control Contact | Placebo comparator | Participants randomized to this group will read a personal story of a person who survived a heart attack. Receives: Other: Contact Video; Other: Contact Text |
| Control Education | Placebo comparator | Participants randomized to this group will read a text containing facts about heart-attacks and their prevention. Receives: Other: Education Video; Other: Education Text |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
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
Measured: Immediately after the intervention (t1)
Secondary outcomes (7)
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
Measured: Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS)
Batterham et al. (2013) Correlates of suicide stigma and suicide literacy in the community. Suicide Life Threat Behav 43(4):406-417
Measured: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Cognitions Concerning Suicide Scale (CCSS)
Cwik et al. (2017) Measuring attitudes towards suicide: Preliminary evaluation of an attitude towards suicide scale. Compr Psychiatry 72:56-65
Measured: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
General help-seeking questionnaire suicidal ideation subscale (GHSQ-SI)
Wilson et al. (2005) Measuring help-seeking intentions: Properties of the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. Canadian Journal of Counselling 39(1):15-28
Measured: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Current suicidality
One item adapted from the PHQ-9 (Kroenke et al. 2001; "Do you currently experience thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself?" response scale from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much)
Measured: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), negative affect subscale
Breyer \& Bluemke (2016) Deutsche Version der Positive and Negative Affect Schedule PANAS (GESIS Panel). ZIS - GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
Measured: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2)
Löwe et al. (2005) Detecting and monitoring depression with a two-item questionnaire (PHQ-2). Journal of Psychosomatic Research 58(2):163-171
Measured: Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Feb 2021
- Study start19 Feb 2021
- Primary completion19 Mar 2021
- Study completion19 Mar 2021
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Public Suicide StigmaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 1,800 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Ulm
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Nathalie Oexle, University of Ulm
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04756219
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 352/20
- Status last verified
- Jun 2021
- First submitted
- 11 Feb 2021
- Last updated
- 10 Jun 2021
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: Anonymized data available upon personal request.
Publications
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.
PubMed 39849424
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 10 Jun 2021. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Beneficial and Harmful Effects of Reducing Public Suicide Stigma
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04756219
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 352/20
- Conditions
- Public Suicide Stigma
- Keywords
- Suicide, Stigma, General public, Suicide prevention
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 1,800 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of UlmUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 19 Feb 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 19 Mar 2021 (actual)
- Study completion
- 19 Mar 2021 (actual)
- First posted
- 16 Feb 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
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.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 6
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Video | Experimental | Other: Contact VideoParticipants randomized to this group will watch a video of a person talking about his recovery after attempting suicide. |
| Contact Text | Experimental | Other: Contact TextParticipants randomized to this group will read a personal story of a person who survived a suicide attempt. |
| Education Video | Experimental | Other: Education VideoParticipants randomized to this group will watch a video of a psychiatrist presenting facts about suicide and suicide prevention. |
| Education Text | Experimental | Other: Education TextParticipants randomized to this group will read a text containing facts about suicide and suicide prevention. |
| Control Contact | Placebo comparator | Other: Contact Video, Other: Contact TextParticipants randomized to this group will read a personal story of a person who survived a heart attack. |
| Control Education | Placebo comparator | Other: Education Video, Other: Education TextParticipants randomized to this group will read a text containing facts about heart-attacks and their prevention. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Participants need to be at least 18 years old, speak German and provide online informed consent.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Persons who self-report to have experienced suicidality within three months before baseline will be excluded.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Contact VideoNo additional information necessary. | Other | Contact Video, Control Contact |
| Contact TextNo additional information necessary. | Other | Contact Text, Control Contact |
| Education VideoNo additional information necessary. | Other | Control Education, Education Video |
| Education TextNo additional information necessary. | Other | Control Education, Education Text |
Primary outcome
Stigma subscale of the Stigma of Suicide Scale short form (SOSS-SF)
Time frame: Immediately after the intervention (t1)
Batterham al. (2013) The Stigma of Suicide Scale. Psychometric properties and correlates of the stigma of suicide. Crisis 34(1):13-21
7 secondary outcomes
Stigma subscale of the Stigma of Suicide Scale short form (SOSS-SF)
Time frame: Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS)
Time frame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Cognitions Concerning Suicide Scale (CCSS)
Time frame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
General help-seeking questionnaire suicidal ideation subscale (GHSQ-SI)
Time frame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Current suicidality
Time frame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), negative affect subscale
Time frame: Immediately after the intervention (t1); Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2)
Time frame: Two weeks after the intervention (t2)
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 10 Jun 2021.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 39849424Oexle 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.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. Anonymized data available upon personal request.
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Contact Video, Contact Text and Education Video in people with Public Suicide Stigma, run by University of Ulm at 1 site in Germany.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Jun 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Germany. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Stigma subscale of the Stigma of Suicide Scale short form (SOSS-SF) (time frame: Immediately after the intervention (t1)). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04756219, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Jun 2021.