Reducing Depression Self-stigma and Increasing Treatment Seeking Intentions Among Youth

Reducing Self-stigma and Increasing Treatment Seeking Intentions Among Youth With Depressive Symptoms: A Mixed-methods Study

Young people with depression, especially those of underserved minority groups, avoid treatment due to stigma and discrimination. Social contact is a form of interpersonal contact with members of the stigmatized group and the most effective type of intervention for improvement in stigma-related knowledge and attitudes.

In a prior study, the investigators developed short video interventions to reduce stigma and increase treatment seeking among people with depression. The videos vary by protagonist race/ethnicity (Latinx, non-Latinx Black, non-Latinx White) who share their experiences with depression, challenges, and recovery process. The investigators would like to test the efficacy of these videos using Prolific (a crowdsourcing platform). Specifically, the investigators are interested in conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of these videos as compared to a vignette control condition on reducing self-stigma and increasing help-seeking intentions and behavior at baseline, post, and 30 day follow-up among youth with depressive symptom scores on the PHQ-9≥ 5.

In a randomized control trial (RCT) with pre-, post-intervention, and 30-day follow-up assessments, we aim to 1) test the efficacy of brief social video interventions, varying protagonist race/ethnicity, as compared to vignette control in reducing self-stigma and increasing treatment-seeking intentions and behavior among 1600 Prolific users ages 18-25 with depressive symptoms (PHQ-9≥ 5), and 2) explore whether matching to protagonist race/ethnicity increases intervention efficacy. We hypothesize that 1) Brief social contact-based video interventions will reduce self-stigma towards depression and increase treatment-seeking intentions and behavior compared to vignette control, and 2) The participants whose race/ethnicity match the protagonist will have greater changes in self-stigma and treatment-seeking than participants with unmatched protagonists, i.e., matching moderates the intervention's effects.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Endorsing mild to severe depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score of 5 or greater)
• Ages 18-25
• US Residents
• English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not endorsing mild to severe depressive symptoms
• Age less than 18 or greater than 25