Standardized Adaptive Music Medicine for Suicidality (STAMM-S)

The primary goal of this clinical trial is to test if music-based intervention (STAMM-S) works for individuals with suicidal thoughts or behaviors. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Can implementing specific music to listen to for 20 minutes a day for 25 days improve suicidality?
• Can implementing education around the psychology of the medicine of music improve mental health outcomes?

Participants will:

• Listen to music given to them by the study team for 20 minutes a day for 25 days
• Receive musical psychoeducation on how to improve mood using music

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: STAMM-S

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 28
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
      • Yuukis Hall - Stanford University
      • Principal Investigator: Daniel L Bowling, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 14-35 years
2. Suicidal ideation (C-SSRS categories 1-3 within the past month)
3. normal sensitivity to music reward on the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire. Score >65

Exclusion Criteria:

1. imminent or acute suicide risk (C-SSRS categories 4-5).
2. Co-morbid substance use disorder.
3. Co-morbid psychotic disorder.
4. current participation in another trial

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: STAMM-S; Participants receive musical psychoeducation and take a dose of 20 minutes of adaptive music per day for 25 days.	Behavioral: STAMM-S; Participants will undergo the STAMM-S treatment, which involves music generated using machine learning to move to a more positive affect. They will also receive education on how to best use the music assigned to improve their mood.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Suicidality via Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS/BSSI) Score	A 19-item scale with each item scoring from 0-2 rating an individual's suicidal thoughts, intent, and ideation. The total score ranges from 0 to 38. A higher score indicates more intense suicidal ideation and a low score indicates less intense suicidal ideation.	Baseline, week 1, week 2, week 3, and post-trial interview (up to 25 days).
Change in Generalized Anxiety Disorder Status via Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) Score	A 7-item measure scaled 0-3 per item that measures symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 0 would be no sign of anxiety and 3 would indicate high level of anxiety over the last two weeks.	Baseline, week 1, week 2, week 3, and post-trial interview (up to 25 days).
Change in Depression Status via Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Score	A 9-item questionnaire that measures symptoms of depression on a 0-3 scale over the last two weeks. 0 would indicate "not at all", 1 would indicate "several days", 2 would indicate "most of the days", and a 3 would indicate "nearly every day".	Baseline, week 1, week 2, week 3, and post-trial interview (up to 25 days).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Music Listening Purpose via Healthy-Unhealthy Music Scale (HUMS) - Healthy Score	Participants respond to a 5-question survey. The scale ranges from 5 to 25. For the healthy scale, a higher rating means a healthier use of music.	Baseline, end of study (up to 25 days).
Change in Music Listening Purpose via Healthy-Unhealthy Music Scale (HUMS) - Unhealthy Score	Participants respond to an 8-question survey. The scale ranges 8 to 40. A higher rating for the unhealthy scale indicates a more maladaptive use of music.	Baseline, end of study (up to 25 days).
Acceptability Scale Score	A 7-question questionnaire on a scale of 0-7 covering the 7 core components on intervention acceptability, where a 0 would indicate total unacceptability and 7 would equal total acceptability. Single participant rating of 4 or greater will be interpreted as satisfactory acceptability.	At the end of the intervention (25 days after enrollment).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Stanford University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Daniel L. Bowling, PhD, Stanford University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 20, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 20, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 28, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 20, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Suicidality; Music; Music-based intervention
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide; Suicidal Ideation; Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: 86501; ECR-0-025-24 (Other Grant/Funding Number: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

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