Recognizing Emotional Neglect and Help-Seeking Intention Among Adolescents in Brussels

Help-Seeking Behavior in Cases of Emotional Neglect: The Decision-Making Process of Adolescents in Dutch-Speaking Secondary Education in Brussels

The goal of this study is to find out how well adolescents in Dutch-speaking secondary schools in Brussels can recognize emotional neglect, and how this relates to their intention to seek help.

The main research questions are:

1. How well do adolescents recognize situations of emotional neglect, and do boys and girls differ in their recognition?
2. Does recognition of emotional neglect predict adolescents' intention to seek help?

This study is conducted through an online survey. Participants will read one of four short written stories about an adolescent experiencing emotional neglect. The stories vary by gender (boy or girl) and by the clarity of the neglect (clear or ambiguous). After reading, participants answer questions about the story, including their thoughts and how they might respond in a similar situation. They also answer questions about their own experiences and attitudes toward help-seeking.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Help-Seeking Behavior; Emotional Neglect; Healthy Adolescents in School-based Population
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Emotional neglect vignettes

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 500
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Fiona Roulent; Phone Number: +32 2 629 36 52; Email: Fiona.Madona.Roulent@vub.be
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Johan Vanderfaeillie; Email: Johan.Vanderfaeillie@vub.be

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Brussels Capital
    • Brussels, Brussels Capital, Belgium, 1050
      • Recruiting
      • Vrije Universiteit Brussel
      • Contact: Fiona Roulent; Phone Number: +32 2 629 36 52; Email: Fiona.Madona.Roulent@vub.be

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: adolescents aged 11-25 years;
• Education: enrolled in regular full-time secondary education;
• School location: Brussels-Capital Region;
• School language: Dutch;
• Consent: informed consent provided by the adolescent and their parent(s)/guardian.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age: younger than 11 years or older than 25 years;
• Education: not enrolled in regular full-time secondary education;
• School location: outside the Brussels-Capital Region;
• School language: non - Dutch-speaking;
• Consent: informed consent not provided by the adolescent or their parent(s)/guardian.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: boy x clear situation; Participants are exposed to a vignette describing a boy in a clear emotional neglect situation.	Behavioral: Emotional neglect vignettes; Participants are randomly assigned to one of four written vignettes of adolescents experiencing emotional neglect. Each vignette differs by gender (boy or girl) and by situation clarity (ambiguous or clear).
Experimental: boy x ambiguous situation; Participants are exposed to a vignette describing a boy in a ambiguous emotional neglect situation.	Behavioral: Emotional neglect vignettes; Participants are randomly assigned to one of four written vignettes of adolescents experiencing emotional neglect. Each vignette differs by gender (boy or girl) and by situation clarity (ambiguous or clear).
Experimental: girl x ambiguous situation; Participants are exposed to a vignette describing a girl in a ambiguous emotional neglect situation.	Behavioral: Emotional neglect vignettes; Participants are randomly assigned to one of four written vignettes of adolescents experiencing emotional neglect. Each vignette differs by gender (boy or girl) and by situation clarity (ambiguous or clear).
Experimental: girl x clear situation; Participants are exposed to a vignette describing a girl in a clear emotional neglect situation.	Behavioral: Emotional neglect vignettes; Participants are randomly assigned to one of four written vignettes of adolescents experiencing emotional neglect. Each vignette differs by gender (boy or girl) and by situation clarity (ambiguous or clear).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Help-seeking intention	Help-seeking intention is measured by asking participants to indicate whether they would seek help in the situation described in the vignette, using a 4-point Likert scale (1 = definitely not, 2 = probably not, 3 = probably yes, 4 = definitely yes). Higher scores indicate greater intention to seek help. Scores will be analyzed using linear regression, with recognition as the independent variable and help-seeking intention as the dependent variable. Additional analyses will test whether perceived severity and anticipated risk of future harm moderate the relationship between recognition and help-seeking intention.	Immediately after reading the vignette
Recognition of emotional neglect	Recognition is measured by asking participants to indicate whether emotional neglect is present in the vignette, using a 4-point Likert scale (1 = definitely not, 2 = probably not, 3 = probably yes, 4 = definitely yes). Higher scores indicate greater recognition of emotional neglect. Scores will be analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with age as a covariate. Factors include participant gender (boy or girl), vignette gender (boy or girl), and type of situation (ambiguous or clear). Exploratory analyses may examine recognition of other types of maltreatment (physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse).	Immediately after reading the vignette

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Severity	Severity is measured by asking participants to indicate how severe they perceived the situation described in the vignette, using a 4-point Likert scale (1 = not at all severe, 2 = not severe, 3 = severe, 4 = very severe). Higher scores indicate greater perceived severity.	Immediately after reading the vignette
Risk of future harm	Risk of future harm is measured by asking participants to estimate the probability that the adolescent in the vignette will experience future physical or emotional problems. Each type of problem is rated on a 6-point Likert scale (1 = no chance, 2 = very small chance, 3 = small chance, 4 = moderate chance, 5 = large chance, 6 = very large chance). Higher scores indicate greater anticipated risk of future harm.	Immediately after reading the vignette

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 23, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 16, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 16, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): January 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 28, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Adolescents; Decision-making; Help-seeking; Recognition; Secondary education; Emotional neglect; Help-seeking behavior; Child neglect; Child maltreatment and neglect
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Social Behavior; Help-Seeking Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: 25276_Hulpzoekgedrag

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