Development and Preliminary Testing of a "Papageno"-Story Interview Intervention- Aim 3

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of a short "Papageno story" video of a compilation of interviews on proximal risk factors for suicide. The researchers believe that the intervention may increase protective factors related to suicide.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Suicide Prevention
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Papageno video; Behavioral: Control video

Detailed Description

Update 4/20/2026: We changed the study design section from "randomized" to "non-randomized" to reflect a change that was brought to our attention. The platform we used for this study did not use a randomizing function, but rather, individuals were presented with surveys on their dashboards. They only became aware of the surveys' content once they clicked the link and began the session. They were not allowed to respond to both the "Papageno" and the active control surveys.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 506
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
      • University of Michigan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• People who are part of an existing cohort within DesignXM
• They will also answer yes to the question: "In the past 1 year, have you wished you were dead or wished you could go to sleep and not wake up?"

Exclusion Criteria:

• No exclusions if all inclusion criteria is met

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Papageno video; The arm will watch a compilation of interviews on proximal risk factors for suicide	Behavioral: Papageno video; The intervention will be a video (14 min 13 sec in length) of a series of clips from the "Papageno" interviews developed during the pilot phase of this project. The decision to combine the videos and shorten the total length of the video was based on the feedback we received during the acceptability and feasibility phase of this study. Interviewees were asked questions about a time in their life when they came close to suicide but found non-suicide alternatives (their "Papageno" story).
Active Comparator: Control video; The arm will watch an educational control video	Behavioral: Control video; The control condition will involve viewing a mental health education video (12 min 14 sec in length) created by our team. It is a simple informational video, aimed at psychoeducation about suicide and safety promotion. It includes a list of mental health and crisis resources. Both videos are interview-style.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Suicidal ideation	Assessed with the Abbreviated Reasons For Living- Young Adult Abbreviated (RFL-YA-II) which consists of 24 questions rated on a scale of 1-6. Higher scores indicate greater importance.	Immediately before and after watching the video and at 3 months
Hopelessness	Assessed with the Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 (BHS-4). The BHS-4 assesses participants' sense of hopelessness, including perceptions of whether their personal actions can improve future outcomes. Participants rate 4 items using a 4 point Likert scale (e.g. "My future seems dark to me"). Each question is coded 0 for positive expectations and 1 for negative expectations.	Immediately before and after watching the video and at 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participant perceived agency	As measured by the Perceived Control Scale which is a single-item measure of participant perceived control. Participants will rate agreement with the statement, "right now, I feel like things are out of my control" from 0-10 ("not at all" to "a lot").	Immediately before and after watching the video and at 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Michigan
• Collaborators: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; Ouida Scholar Award
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jane Harness, DO, University of Michigan; Principal Investigator: Cheryl King, PhD, University of Michigan

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 17, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 6, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): October 6, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 18, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): February 24, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 23, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 20, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide; Behavior; Suicide Prevention
• Other Study ID Numbers: HUM00266531; SRG-1-123-19 (Other Grant/Funding Number: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual participant data that underlie the results reported.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Approximately 5 years following publication.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Investigators whose proposed use of the data has been approved by the investigator.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No