Anhedonia, Digital Health Intervention, Reward Sensitivity, Suicidal, Suicidal Ideation, Suicidal Thoughts
Conditions
Keywords
Adolescents, Legal Guardians, Digital, Philadelphia, Suicide, Intervention, Prevention, Dyads, Reward Sensitivity, Anhedonia
Brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to develop and test an app designed to reduce suicide risk and improve emotional well-being in adolescents. The study will test if the app's daily check ins and recommended mood boosting skills will improve the adolescent's overall mood and suicidality. The main question it aims to answer is: • Is the app practical and acceptable to use daily? In the study, adolescents will: * Participate in a focus group with other adolescents and provide feedback on the app itself (design, ease of use, etc.). * Complete surveys and assessments on their mood, thoughts, and experiences. * Complete assessments about their app experience. In the study, the legal guardian of the adolescent will: * Participate in a focus group with other adolescents and provide feedback on the app itself (design, ease of use, etc.). * Complete assessments about their app experience.
Detailed description
Adolescent suicide remains a major concern, and current treatments and prevention approaches are not effective for all adolescents. Some adolescents, particularly those who have difficulty experiencing pleasure or positive emotions (anhedonia), may be at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and may benefit less from existing interventions. This study aims to address this gap by developing and testing a digital intervention designed to improve reward sensitivity, increase positive emotions, and reduce suicidal thoughts in adolescents. The intervention uses a just-in-time adaptive intervention approach, meaning that participants receive brief support activities and coping tools on their smartphone throughout the day. These activities are designed to promote healthy reward-seeking behaviors, improve mood, and provide support during moments when adolescents may be especially open to intervention. The study also uses ecological momentary assessments, which are short real-time surveys completed multiple times per day to measure mood, motivation, thoughts, context, and daily experiences. The study will be conducted in multiple phases. The study is currently recruiting for Phase 1. In Phase 1, adolescents and their legal guardians will participate in a co-design process and provide feedback on the digital platform and intervention content to improve usability and acceptability. Participants will complete interviews, questionnaires, and digital assessments related to mood, emotions, reward sensitivity, coping behaviors, and suicidal thoughts. Findings from this study will help inform future digital suicide prevention interventions for adolescents.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSuicide prevention treatment
Digital just-in-time adaptive intervention to enhance reward sensitivity and reduce suicidal ideation
Sponsors
University of Pennsylvania
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
13 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
ADOLESCENTS * Aged 13-17 years old * Recent suicidal ideation * Access to a smartphone device * Residing in the Philadelphia metropolitan area LEGALGUARDIANS * They are the legal guardian of an adolescent that meets all study criteria (see above) * They can read, write, and speak English
Exclusion criteria
ADOLESCENTS * Psychotic disorder, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, with a past year psychotic episode prior to baseline * Bipolar disorder I diagnosis, with a past year manic episode prior to baseline * Imminent suicide risk (e.g., active suicidal ideation with a specific plan and intent) LEGALGUARDIANS \- There are no
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptability of Digital Suicide Prevention Intervention | Day 1 (Focus Group) | At least 80% of youth will report in qualitative feedback that the digital suicide prevention intervention is helpful and relevant to their daily lives. |
| Usability of Digital Suicide Prevention Intervention | Day 1 (Focus Group) | The digital suicide prevention intervention prototype will exceed established usability benchmarks, as measured by the System Usability Scale (SUS; range = 0-100, with higher scores indicating greater perceived usability), with a mean SUS score of at least 70. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTSydney Lempert, B.A.
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMarin Kautz, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Outcome results
None listed