The Effect of Virtual Ostracism in Adolescents and Young Adults with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: An fNIRS Study

The Effect of Virtual Ostracism in Adolescents and Young Adults with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: An fNIRS Study - SNAP

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00038980

Enrollment

Registered

2026-01-15

Start date

2026-03-05

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-04-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Diagnostic Criteria for Non-Suicidal Self-Injury According to DSM-5, Section III

Interventions

Group 1: Group 1 (NSSI) consists of individuals with non-suicidal self-injury aged 14 to 25 years (n = 25). As part of the study, participants take part at a single assessment time point, during which

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

14 Years to 25 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Inclusion criteria include the presence of NSSI within the past 12 months and the appropriate age range; for the clinical control group, the absence of NSSI for at least 12 months despite the presence of a mental disorder. Healthy control participants must have no current or past mental disorder and no history of NSSI.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Exclusion criteria include severe cognitive impairment (IQ < 70), a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder, or delusional disorder (F20–29), bipolar affective disorder (F31) or a manic episode (F30), pervasive developmental disorders (F84), as well as insufficient proficiency in German.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The primary endpoint of the study is neural activation in the prefrontal cortex during social exclusion in a virtual reality Cyberball task. This endpoint is assessed once at a single assessment session during the performance of the VR task. Neural activation is measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and refers to activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The aim is to compare activation between individuals with non-suicidal self-injury and individuals without non-suicidal self-injury.	—

Measure

Time frame

The primary endpoint of the study is neural activation in the prefrontal cortex during social exclusion in a virtual reality Cyberball task. This endpoint is assessed once at a single assessment session during the performance of the VR task. Neural activation is measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and refers to activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The aim is to compare activation between individuals with non-suicidal self-injury and individuals without non-suicidal self-injury.

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Neural activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during viewing of images related to non-suicidal self-injury, measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The aim is to compare activation between individuals with non-suicidal self-injury and individuals without non-suicidal self-injury.	—

Countries

Austria

Contacts

Public ContactOswald Kothgassner

Medizinische Universität Wien, Universitätsklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie

oswald.kothgassner@meduniwien.ac.at+43 1 40400 32350

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: May 1, 2026