Building Stronger Allies

"Building Stronger Allies": Development and Evaluation of a Web Application Targeting Interpersonal Risk Factors for Suicide in Active Duty Service Members

BSA is a novel, computerized intervention specifically designed for active military personnel with the intent to reduce two risk factors known to be associated with suicide outcomes.

The investigators have focused on the identification of malleable risk factors for preventative intervention in a number of types of psychopathology including suicidality. In the case of Perceived Burdensomeness (PB) and Thwarted Belongingness (TB), theory suggests that they may be malleable, though this has received little empirical attention. Taken together, the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide and related empirical literature suggest that targeting PB/TB should offer a novel and important avenue to reduce suicidality. This inspired the investigators' efforts to create and evaluate an intervention - called Building Stronger Allies (BSA) - designed to reduce these factors.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must show at least some suicide risk based on scoring > 0 on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS).
• Must also own a Smartphone.

Exclusion Criteria:

• No evidence of such serious suicidal risk that would indicate a need for immediate hospitalization or emergency intervention.
• No planned moves/deployments for the next 3 months.