Development of a Positive Psychology Intervention to Reduce Suicide Risk (HOPE)

This pilot study will recruit patients admitted to the inpatient psychiatric unit at MGH for suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt. Inclusion criteria will be broad to increase enrollment rates and obtain information for patients with a wide range of diagnoses and illness severity. Enrolled subjects will complete randomly-selected positive psychology exercises daily (on weekdays) until discharge and will rate the exercises in multiple domains. Subjects' participation will be complete at the end of their admission or when all exercises have been completed, whichever comes first.

Overall, our goal is to assess the acceptability and utility of eight possible positive psychology interventions related to gratitude, optimism, kindness, mindfulness, recollection, and forgiveness in suicidal inpatients.

This is a single-arm study, completed with patients who have been admitted to the hospital for suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt. It is aimed at developing a positive psychology treatment aimed at suicidal patients. The study consists of serial completion of different positive psychology exercises, once daily, during admission, to get subjects' input on their feasibility and impact. This will allow us to work collaboratively to identify the specific exercises that best fit this population. Subjects' participation ends when they are discharged from the hospital. The investigators plan to enroll 30 subjects at MGH (and total) in this study.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Suicidal Ideation; Suicide Attempt
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Positive Psychology Exercises

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
      • Massachusetts General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult (age 18 and older) admitted to inpatient psychiatric unit at Massachusetts General Hospital
• Suicidal ideation at time of admission OR
• Admission occurring in context of suicide attempt
• Ability to read and write in English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Psychotic symptoms
• Cognitive disorder

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Positive Psychology Exercises

Other: Positive Psychology Exercises; At each session, the interventionalist will prepare the subject to complete a randomly-selected positive psychology exercise, lasting approximately 20 minutes, within the next 24 hours. He or she will describe the rationale for the exercise and the details of the exercise, and will answer any questions. A sheet with written instructions (matching the verbal instructions) for the exercise will be provided, with space for recording the exercise and an area to provide ratings on the exercise. On the following day, the interventionalist will review the prior day's exercise (and record whether it was completed). The exercises will be completed daily on weekdays for a maximum of 8 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Completion of exercises	Exercises assigned each day and assessed for completion the next day (a total of eight exercises)	Every 24 hours until all exercises administered or discharge occurs

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Optimism	Life Orientation Test-Revised	Baseline and on the date of discharge (average length of admission= 2 weeks)
Feasibility and utility of exercises	Self-report using Likert scale	Assessed within 24 hours of exercise completion
Hopelessness	Beck Hopelessness Scale	Baseline and on the date of discharge (average length of admission=2 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: May 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 15, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 19, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): July 21, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): March 5, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 4, 2013
• Last Verified: March 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide, Attempted
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2010P002826

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No