Hand in Hand, We Rise (Xie Shou Gong Jin)

This study aims to conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial to assess the feasibility of implementing the "Hand in Hand, We Rise" (Xie Shou Gong Jin) multi-stakeholder collaborative school-based suicide prevention program in rural public junior high schools. Six schools will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention group or the control group; the intervention group will simultaneously implement the "Youth Strengths & Skills Curriculum (YSSC)" curriculum for students, "Life Gatekeeper" training for teachers, and mental health information dissemination for caregivers. The primary objectives are to evaluate recruitment, retention, adherence, implementation fidelity, acceptability, and safety within real-world school settings, and to preliminarily estimate changes in indicators such as suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, loneliness, help-seeking attitudes, mental health stigma, self-esteem, school climate, and bullying. The findings will provide parameters and an implementation basis for a subsequent large-scale, multi-school cluster randomized controlled trial.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Suicide; Mental Health; Suicide Prevention; Suicide Awareness
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Xie Shou Gong Jin; Behavioral: Regular psychoeducation class

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1680
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Shufang Sun, PhD; Phone Number: 401-484-0012; Email: flourishing@brown.edu

Study Locations

• China
  • Anhui
    • Linquan County, Anhui, China
      • Six middle schools
      • Contact: Pingping Zhao; Phone Number: 19908091587; Email: Zpp087@foxmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adolescent inclusion criteria include: (a) is a registered student at one of the participating schools, (b) be between the ages of 11-15, (c) fluent in reading Chinese during the consent process, (d) be willing to participate in the YSSC curriculum during their psychoeducation class.
• Caregiver inclusion criteria include: (a) age 18 or above, (b) can read and speak Chinese, (c) be a primary caregiver of an adolescent enrolled in the participating schools, and (d) willing to discuss perceived needs related to adolescent suicide prevention.
• Teacher inclusion criteria include: (a) age 18 or above, (b) can read and speak Chinese, (c) be a full-time teacher of the participating schools.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals will be excluded from the study if they are determined to have symptoms that would prevent them from giving meaningful consent or participate in study activities, such as significant cognitive impairment.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Hand in Hand, We Rise; Six schools will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention group or the control group; the intervention group will simultaneously implement the "Youth Strengths & Skills Curriculum (YSSC)" curriculum for students, "Life Gatekeeper" training for teachers, and mental health information dissemination for caregivers. Students' intervention (YSSC) includes a 6-session course, with each session delivered by school mental health teachers approximately every 2 weeks. Parents' intervention also includes 6-lesson course, with each lesson delivered approximately every 2 weeks. Teachers' intervention will be a 1-to-2-day(s) training delivered right after the randomization.	Behavioral: Xie Shou Gong Jin; Six schools will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention group or the control group; the intervention group will simultaneously implement the "Youth Strengths & Skills Curriculum (YSSC)" curriculum for students, "Life Gatekeeper" training for teachers, and mental health information dissemination for caregivers.
Active Comparator: Usual care; Psychoeducation classroom education for students as usual	Behavioral: Regular psychoeducation class; Psychoeducation classroom as usual in schools, provided by teachers to students as part of the regular school curriculum

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Suicide Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS)	Frequency and severity of suicide ideation will be evaluated by SIDAS at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up to evaluate suicide ideation as one of the primary outcomes among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)	Severity of suicide risk will be assessed by the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up to evaluate the overall risk of suicide as one of the primary outcomes among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Session Evaluation Form (SEF)	The 13-item SEF measuring perceived feasibility, acceptability, and intervention utility of the intervention at 4 months follow-up/postintervention	4 months (post-intervention)
Client Satisfaction Survey (CSQ-8)	The 8-item CSQ assessing satisfaction will be used to measure intervention acceptability at 4 months follow-up/post-intervention.	4 months (post-intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)	Severity of depression as a secondary outcome will be measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)	Severity of anxiety symptoms as a secondary outcome will be measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help	Help-seeking attitude will be measured by the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help, at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up among adolescents, caregivers, and school teachers.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Perceived Devaluation Discrimination (PDD) scale	Perception of stigma against mental health will be measured by the Perceived DevaluationDiscrimination (PDD) scale, as a secondary outcome, at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up among adolescents, caregivers, and school teachers.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Stigma of Suicide Scale (SOSS)-short form	Stigma against suicide will be measured by Stigma of Suicide Scale (SOSS)-short form, as a secondary outcome, at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up among adolescents, caregivers, and school teachers.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Adapted Delaware School Climate Survey	Peer bullying will be measured by the Adapted Delaware School Climate Survey, as a secondary outcome, at baseline, 4 months and 8 months follow-up among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale	The 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale will be used to assess self-esteem as a secondary outcome at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up. This scale will be assessed among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Self-Efficacy Scale (GKSES)	The Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Self-Efficacy Scale (GKSES) will be used to assess self-efficacy among teachers and caregivers as a secondary outcome at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Brief Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16)	The 16-item Brief Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16) will be used to assess difficulties in emotion regulation as a secondary outcome at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.
WHO-5 Well-Being Index	The subjective psychological well-being will be measured by WHO-5 Well-Being Index as a secondary outcome at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up
Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM)	The 10-item Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM) will be used to assess mindfulness as a secondary outcome among adolescents at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.
Children's Hope Scale	Hope will be measured by the 6-item Children's Hope Scale (CHS) as a secondary outcome among adolescents at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.
Self-Compassion Scale Short Form	Self-compassion among adolescents will be measured by the 12-item Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF) as a secondary outcome at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.
Resilience Scale (CYRM-R)	The 12-item Child and Youth Resilience Measure-Revised (CYRM-R) will be used to assess resilience as a secondary outcome at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up among adolescents.	Baseline, 4 months (post-intervention) and 8 months follow-up.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adverse Childhood Experience	Adverse childhood experience will be measured by baseline as a potential intervention effect moderator. This scale will be assessed among adolescents.	Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Brown University
• Collaborators: Beijing Normal University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 20, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 20, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

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

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Suicide Prevention; Suicide; Psychological Well-Being
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00001434

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Following data collection, cleaning, and analysis, we plan to publish de-identified quantitative data at an open science data repository (e.g., Open Science Framework). De-identified qualitative data will be available upon request to the study PI.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

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