Help-Seeking BehaviorMHINCT05451706
Improving College Students' Mental Help-Seeking Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A study testing Mental help-seeking self-persuasion in people with Help-Seeking Behavior and Mental Health Issue, run by Cleveland State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study aimed at testing the effectiveness of a longitudinal intervention in increasing college students' intention to seek mental help during the pandemic. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 100 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Help-Seeking Behavior, Mental Health Issue
- What is being tested?
- Mental help-seeking self-persuasion
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 926 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Oct 2020to 31 Jan 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 to 100 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- 18 years old or older
- Full-time undergraduate students
- Had more than a moderate amount of mental distress
Who cannot join
- Under 18 years old
- Not full-time undergraduate students
- Had less than a moderate amount of mental distress
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
This study aimed at testing the effectiveness of a longitudinal intervention in increasing college students' intention to seek mental help during the pandemic.
Read the detailed description
This study aimed at testing the effectiveness of a longitudinal intervention in increasing college students' intention to seek mental help during the pandemic.
A four-armed randomized controlled experiment was conducted to compare two self-persuasion methods against two control conditions. Assessments took place at baseline (T0), post-first treatment (T1), post-second treatment (six weeks, T2), and ten-week follow-up (T3).
The results showed that the intervention significantly increased students' help-seeking intention, attitude, and efficacy at different time points. It also reduced mental help-seeking-related stigma after the first task.
- Conditions
- Help-Seeking Behavior, Mental Health Issue
- Being tested
- Mental help-seeking self-persuasion
- Keywords
- Mental help-seeking, COVID-19, College students, Self-persuasion
- Medical subject headings
- Help-Seeking Behavior, COVID-19
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Mental help-seeking self-persuasionBehavioural
Employing a longitudinal design, this study used a self-persuasion framework in a 4-arm intervention to increase college students' help-seeking intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube Intervention | Experimental | Participants assigned to this task were asked to search YouTube for a 5-10 minutes' video promoting mental help-seeking among college students. Then, they were expected to provide the link to the video and describe the content of the video. Next, participants were guided to form rebuttals disapproving three statements that rationalize students' low intention to seek mental help. Receives: Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasion |
| Facebook Intervention | Active comparator | This task was to draft a Facebook message for the participants' fellow students. In their message, participants were expected to list three reasons for seeking mental help. The length of the message was not pre-determined. Receives: Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasion |
| YouTube Control Group | Placebo comparator | Participants in this group were assigned a YouTube task advocating social distancing during a pandemic. The question prompts were modified from the tasks for the experimental groups. Receives: Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasion |
| Facebook Control Group | Placebo comparator | Participants in this group were assigned a Facebook task advocating social distancing during a pandemic. The question prompts were modified from the tasks for the experimental groups. Receives: Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasion |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Help-Seeking Intention
Help-Seeking Intention was measured by one item created based on recommendations by Ajzen (2002). Measured on a 5-point scale (1 = extremely unlikely, 5 = extremely likely), this item asked, "If you have a personal-emotional problem, how likely is it that you would seek help from a mental health professional (a psychologist, psychologist, or psychotherapist)?" Higher scores on this item suggest higher intentions to seek professional mental help.
Measured: 10 weeks
Help-Seeking Behavior
Help-Seeking Behavior was measured by a validated item modified from previous research based on the transtheoretical model (Sarkin et al., 2001). The item asked about if a participant has sought mental help from a health care professional. Answers to this item included "1 = not intending to seek help in the next six months," "2 = intending to seek help in the next six months," "3 = planning to seek help in the next 30 days," "4 = have already sought help but for less than six months," and "5 = have been under treatment for more than six months."
Measured: 10 weeks
Secondary outcomes (3)
Mental help-seeking attitudes
participants rated 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree") on ten items of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form (ATSPPHS-SF) (Fischer \& Farina, 1995).
Measured: 10 weeks
Self-stigma of seeking mental help
Participants rated 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree") on ten items adopted from the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale (Vogel et al., 2006).
Measured: 10/2020 - 1/10 weeks
Mental help-seeking efficacy
Mental Help-Seeking Efficacy was measured by five items modified from previous research (Mo \& Mak, 2009) and recommendations (Ajzen, 2002). Participants rated 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree") on the answers.
Measured: 10 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted11 Jul 2022
- Study start1 Oct 2020
- Primary completion30 Jan 2021
- Study completion31 Jan 2021
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Help-Seeking BehaviorStudies 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
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 926 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Cleveland State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Qiwei Luna Wu, Cleveland State University
- Investigators
- Qiwei Wu, Principal investigator, Cleveland State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05451706
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- ClevelandSU
- Acronym
- MHI
- Status last verified
- Feb 2024
- First submitted
- 6 Jul 2022
- Last updated
- 6 Feb 2024
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: IPD will not be shared as required by the IRB protocol.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 6 Feb 2024. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Improving College Students' Mental Help-Seeking Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05451706
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MHI / ClevelandSU
- Conditions
- Help-Seeking Behavior, Mental Health Issue
- Keywords
- Mental help-seeking, COVID-19, College students, Self-persuasion
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 926 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Cleveland State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Oct 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jan 2021 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Jan 2021 (actual)
- First posted
- 11 Jul 2022 (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.
This study aimed at testing the effectiveness of a longitudinal intervention in increasing college students' intention to seek mental help during the pandemic.
Detailed description
This study aimed at testing the effectiveness of a longitudinal intervention in increasing college students' intention to seek mental help during the pandemic.
A four-armed randomized controlled experiment was conducted to compare two self-persuasion methods against two control conditions. Assessments took place at baseline (T0), post-first treatment (T1), post-second treatment (six weeks, T2), and ten-week follow-up (T3).
The results showed that the intervention significantly increased students' help-seeking intention, attitude, and efficacy at different time points. It also reduced mental help-seeking-related stigma after the first task.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasionParticipants assigned to this task were asked to search YouTube for a 5-10 minutes' video promoting mental help-seeking among college students. Then, they were expected to provide the link to the video and describe the content of the video. Next, participants were guided to form rebuttals disapproving three statements that rationalize students' low intention to seek mental help. |
| Facebook Intervention | Active comparator | Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasionThis task was to draft a Facebook message for the participants' fellow students. In their message, participants were expected to list three reasons for seeking mental help. The length of the message was not pre-determined. |
| YouTube Control Group | Placebo comparator | Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasionParticipants in this group were assigned a YouTube task advocating social distancing during a pandemic. The question prompts were modified from the tasks for the experimental groups. |
| Facebook Control Group | Placebo comparator | Behavioral: Mental help-seeking self-persuasionParticipants in this group were assigned a Facebook task advocating social distancing during a pandemic. The question prompts were modified from the tasks for the experimental groups. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 100 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- 18 years old or older
- Full-time undergraduate students
- Had more than a moderate amount of mental distress
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Under 18 years old
- Not full-time undergraduate students
- Had less than a moderate amount of mental distress
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mental help-seeking self-persuasionEmploying a longitudinal design, this study used a self-persuasion framework in a 4-arm intervention to increase college students' help-seeking intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Behavioural | Facebook Control Group, Facebook Intervention, YouTube Control Group, YouTube Intervention |
Primary outcome
Help-Seeking Intention
Time frame: 10 weeks
Help-Seeking Intention was measured by one item created based on recommendations by Ajzen (2002). Measured on a 5-point scale (1 = extremely unlikely, 5 = extremely likely), this item asked, "If you have a personal-emotional problem, how likely is it that you would seek help from a mental health professional (a psychologist, psychologist, or psychotherapist)?" Higher scores on this item suggest higher intentions to seek professional mental help.
Help-Seeking Behavior
Time frame: 10 weeks
Help-Seeking Behavior was measured by a validated item modified from previous research based on the transtheoretical model (Sarkin et al., 2001). The item asked about if a participant has sought mental help from a health care professional. Answers to this item included "1 = not intending to seek help in the next six months," "2 = intending to seek help in the next six months," "3 = planning to seek help in the next 30 days," "4 = have already sought help but for less than six months," and "5 = have been under treatment for more than six months."
3 secondary outcomes
Mental help-seeking attitudes
Time frame: 10 weeks
Self-stigma of seeking mental help
Time frame: 10/2020 - 1/10 weeks
Mental help-seeking efficacy
Time frame: 10 weeks
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 6 Feb 2024.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. IPD will not be shared as required by the IRB protocol.
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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.
Qiwei Wu principal investigator
Cleveland State University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Mental help-seeking self-persuasion in people with Help-Seeking Behavior and Mental Health Issue, run by Cleveland State University at 1 site in United States.
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 3 inclusion and 3 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 6 Feb 2024. 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 United States. 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?
Help-Seeking Intention (time frame: 10 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 6 Feb 2024.