Reducing Self-Stigma Among Individuals with History of Childhood Maltreatment

Reducing Self-Stigma Among Individuals with History of Childhood Maltreatment: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Individuals who report experiencing any kind of abuse during childhood report shame and self-blame, often leading to self-stigma and a reluctance to reveal their experiences and seek help. Such stigma may aggravate the mental health consequences of child maltreatment (CM).

The aim of the proposed study is twofold: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief video-based intervention in reducing self-stigma among individuals who experienced childhood abuse and/or maltreatment, and (2) to increase openness to seeking treatment.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Child Abuse; Stigma, Social; Help-Seeking Behavior; Child Neglect
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Video

Detailed Description

Prior research suggests that social contact-based interventions are the most efficient way of reducing stigma. This study aims to address self-stigma and empower individuals who self-reported experiencing any kind of abuse during childhood and increase their openness to seeking help, if needed.

A total of 1000 adults with self-report experience of any kind of childhood abuse will be recruited to participate in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) testing the efficacy of the intervention. Participants will be randomized into one of two arms: 1) A 2-minute video intervention in which a CM survivor (presented by either a female or male actor) shares their personal CM experience and describes how they were able to overcome feelings of shame and self-blame to seek mental health care; or 2) A 2-minute control video using the same actors, but without CM-related content. Both videos will be preceded by and immediately followed by questionnaires assessing self-stigma and openness to seeking treatment. An additional assessment of emotional engagement will be added immediately following intervention delivery. Following the intervention, there will be a 30-day follow-up to examine potential long-term effects.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 685
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • New York State Psychiatric Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-80
• US resident
• Individuals who endorse yes to one of the following items: physical aggression in family or household, emotional or verbal abuse in family or household, sexual abuse or inappropriate sexual experiences, negligence - physical or emotional, mental illness or substance abuse at home, incarceration of family member
• Fluent in English and able to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• N/A

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Video with Childhood Maltreatment-Related Content; Participants will view a video of an actor describing the story of an individual who experienced childhood maltreatment and how they overcame its effects on their life.	Behavioral: Video; A short video aimed at reducing self-stigma among individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment and increasing their help seeking intentions (if needed).
No Intervention: Video without Childhood Maltreatment Content; Participants will view a lifestyle video of an actor describing their day-to-day experiences, without any childhood maltreatment-related themes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-Stigma Questionnaire - Post-Intervention	Change in stigma items from baseline - higher score indicates higher stigma (range of 15 to 60)	Immediately post-intervention
Self-Stigma Questionnaire - Follow-Up	Change in stigma items from baseline - higher score indicates higher stigma (range of 15 to 60)	30 days post-intervention
Help Seeking Intentions (3 items of the ATSPPH) - Post-Intervention	Change in treatment-seeking intentions from baseline - higher score indicates higher help-seeking intentions (range of 3 to 12)	Immediately post-intervention
Help Seeking Intentions (3 items of the ATSPPH) - Follow-Up	Change in treatment-seeking intentions from baseline - higher score indicates higher help-seeking intentions (range of 3 to 12)	30 days post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc.
• Collaborators: Columbia University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yuval Neria, PhD, NYSPI and Columbia University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 26, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): September 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 5, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 5, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): April 18, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 11, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 8453

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

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