RCT of Brief Intervention Addressing Stigma Among Parents of Children With Mental Health Problems

The goal of this study is to test the efficacy of brief video interventions parental internalized stigma and stigma-related outcomes (e.g., treatment intentions, caregiver burden, secrecy) among parents (ages 25-50) of children ages 6-18 with depression, ADHD, or substance use problems.

Timely identification and treatment of mental health problems in youth is a public health priority. However, many youth do not receive treatment, and stigma has been identified as the primary barrier to help-seeking. Parents experience stigma related to their children having mental health problems, which has been associated with reduced help-seeking and increased parental distress. Prior experiments have found brief video-based interventions (BVIs), 1-2 minute videos similar to those viewed by youth on social media platforms, based on the principle of "social contact" with individuals affected by a stigmatized condition, effective in reducing mental health stigma and increasing help-seeking.

In this 4-arm RCT, we will recruit parents aged 25-50 using an online crowdsourcing platform, to test the efficacy of BVIs featuring a personal parent narrative of their experience with their child's a) depression, b) ADHD, or c) substance use, or d) a control condition that provides general written psychoeducational information without social contact.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Caregiver Burden; ADHD; Substance Abuse; Social Stigma; Help-Seeking Behavior; Depression Disorders
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Brief video

Detailed Description

Brief video-based interventions (BVIs) have been studied as a means of reducing stigma toward mental health problems and increasing help-seeking. "Contact-based interventions," in which a representative of a stigmatized group shares their personal stories, have been found one of the most effective anti-stigma interventions. Effective contact-based interventions target to a specific population, account for the specific interests of that population, and credibly provide stories that highlight recovery in a plausible manner to moderately disconfirm stereotypes. BVIs package contact-based stigma interventions into short (1-2 minute) messages in the style of social media content. Prior RCTs have tested BVIs targeting depression-related stigma in adolescents, featuring a young person describing experiences with depressive symptoms, that improved as they sought support from parents and professionals. Parents often experience stigma to their children's mental health problems and play a critical gate-keeping role for children accessing mental health treatment. Additionally, parental stigma is associated with child mental health outcomes, and potential mediators between parental stigma and child outcomes including parental wellbeing, attitudes toward the child, help-seeking, and self-efficacy. Thus, we hypothesize that BVIs targeted to parents of children with similar mental health conditions (e.g., depression, ADHD, or substance use) will have greater impact on reducing stigma and increasing treatment intentions than generic written psychoeducational content without a social contact component.

We will measure distinct stigma-related outcomes relevant to parents of children with mental health problems:

1. Parental internalized stigma
2. Treatment intentions
3. Treatment engagement
4. Attitudes toward the child
5. Caregiver burden
6. Self-efficacy
7. secrecy coping (i.e., to avoid potential negative repercussions of stigma).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1600
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Doron Amsalem, MD; Phone Number: 929-404-8802; Email: doron.amsalem@nyspi.columbia.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Timothy Becker, MD; Phone Number: 914-997-5203; Email: tdb2143@cumc.columbia.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University Irving Medical Center
      • Contact: Doron Amsalem, MD; Phone Number: 929-404-8802; Email: doron.amsalem@nyspi.columbia.edu
      • Contact: Timothy Becker, MD; Phone Number: 914-997-5203; Email: tdb2143@cumc.columbia.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Self-identify as English Speaking
• Live in the US
• Ages 25-50
• Have a child 6-18 years old with either depression, ADHD, or a substance use problem

Exclusion Criteria:

• Do not speak English
• Do not live in the US
• <25 or >50
• Do not have a child between ages 6-18 with depression, ADHD, or a substance use problem

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental: Depression social contact brief video; Novel brief video (1-2 mins) in which a mother talks about their child's depression, impact of the parent, how parent helped support recovery	Other: Brief video; Brief video about depression (arm 1), ADHD (arm 2), or substance use (arm 3)
Experimental: Experimental: ADHD social contact brief video; Novel brief video (1-2 mins) in which a mother talks about their child's ADHD, impact on the parent, how parent helped support recovery	Other: Brief video; Brief video about depression (arm 1), ADHD (arm 2), or substance use (arm 3)
Experimental: Experimental: substance use social contact brief video; Novel brief video (1-2 mins) in which a mother talks about their child's depression, impact on the parent, how parent helped support recovery	Other: Brief video; Brief video about depression (arm 1), ADHD (arm 2), or substance use (arm 3)
No Intervention: Control; Written psychoeducational information about children's mental health, treatment options, and how parents can support child

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Parental Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (PISMI)	Measures internalized stigma among parents of children with mental health problems	Immediately after viewing video, 30 days after intervention
Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form (adapted)	3-item measure of treatment intentions, modified for parents of children with mental health problems	Immediately after viewing video, 30 days after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Zarit Burden Interview screen	Brief measure of caregiver burden	Immediately after viewing video, 30 days after intervention
Secrecy coping scale (adapted)	Parental attitudes toward concealing the child's problems from others	Immediately after viewing video, 30 days after intervention
Parental self-efficacy	Single item measure from Parenting sense of competence (PSOC) scale	Immediately after viewing video, 30 days after intervention
Parental attitudes and responses toward adolescent depression (adapted)	Select items measuring critical and supportive responses to child's emotional needs	Immediately after viewing video, 30 days after intervention
Treatment engagement	3 questions about considering treatment, taking steps to start treatment, or starting treatment in the prior 30 days	30 days after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: New York State Psychiatric Institute
• Collaborators: Columbia University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Doron Amsalem, MD, Columbia University; New York State Psychiatric Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 13, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 13, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 19, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 13, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: caregiver burden; social stigma; help-seeking behavior
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Stress, Psychological; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; Behavior; Social Behavior; Caregiver Burden; Substance-Related Disorders; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Social Stigma; Help-Seeking Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAAV7555

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