Understanding How Peer Support Helps in Mental Health Care (PAIR-PROS)

October 1, 2026 updated by: University of Bordeaux

Psychological Processes Associated With Professional Peer Support in Mental Health Amoug Psychiatric Service Users

The goal of this observational study is to better understand the psychological processes associated with professional peer support among adults using psychiatric services. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Do users perceive greater similarity and less dehumanization with peer workers compared with other mental health professionals? Are perceived similarity and dehumanization associated with users' empowerment and hope? Researchers will compare participants' perceptions of a peer worker and another mental health professional who have supported them during the past 12 months.

Participants will complete an online questionnaire about their experiences with both professionals, including measures of perceived similarity, therapeutic alliance, perceived dehumanization, empowerment, and hope. The order in which participants answer questions about the peer worker and the other mental health professional will be randomized.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

160

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • France
      • Bordeaux, France
        • Université de Bordeaux - Laboratoire de psychologie UR4139 - Faculté de Psychologie
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Adrien SEGELA
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Felix SIMON

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults experiencing or having experienced mental health difficulties who have received support from both a professional peer worker and another mental health professional within the past 12 months. Participants will be recruited in France through mental health services, professional and peer-support networks, associations, and online communication channels

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Experiencing or having experienced mental health difficulties. Having received support from mental health professionals within the past 12 months.
  • Having received support from a professional peer worker within the past 12 months.
  • Being able to identify a specific mental health professional who provided support during the past 12 months.
  • Being able to identify a specific professional peer worker who provided support during the past 12 months.

Exclusion Criteria :

  • Not meeting inclusion criteria
  • Not understanding French
  • Have expressed their objection to taking part by not ticking the box stating "I have read the information above and declare that I do not object to the use of my data for the purposes of this research"

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: OTHER
  • Time Perspectives: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Mental health service users

Adults experiencing mental health difficulties who are currently receiving or have received support from both a professional peer worker and another mental health professional within the past 12 months.
Other: Perceptions of professional peer support and mental health professional support

No active intervention is administered as part of this observational study. Participants will complete an online questionnaire about their experiences with a professional peer worker and another mental health professional who have supported them within the past 12 months. For each professional, participants will complete measures of perceived similarity and perceived dehumanization, therapeutic alliance as well as measures of empowerment and hope. The order of the two assessment conditions will be randomized.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
French Empowerment scale (Designes et al. 2025)
Time Frame: At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months.

French Empowerment Scale (ES), 18 items, from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree).

Min = 18 Max = 72. Higher score on the scale indicates a high level of empowerment.
At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
French version of the Adult dispositional hope scale (Gana et al. 2012)
Time Frame: At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months

French version of the adult dispositional hope scale (ADHS), 12 items, from 1 (always false) to 8 (always true).

Min = 8 Max = 64. Higher score on the scale indicates a high level of dispositional hope.
At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months
Perceived similarity
Time Frame: At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months.

Created and pre tested measure, 1 item, from 1 (very different) to 6 (very similar).

Min=1 Max = 6. Higher score indicates a high level of similarity.
At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months.
The experience of dehumanization measurement (Gollossenko et al. 2023)
Time Frame: At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months

The experience of dehumanization measurement (EDHM), adapted to french following best-practice guidelines, 10 items, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Min = 10 Max = 50. Higher score on the scale indicates a high level of perceived dehumanization
At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months
Working alliance inventory short form (Corbière et al. 2006)
Time Frame: At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months

Working Alliance Inventory Short Form (WAISF), 12 items, from 1(never) to 7 (always).

Min = 12 Max = 84. Higher score on the scale indicates a high level of therapeutic alliance
At enrollment, referring to support received within the past 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Bordeaux

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Antoinette PROUTEAU, PhD, Université de Bordeaux - Laboratoire de psychologie UR4139 - Faculté de Psychologie

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 30, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 1, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 26.02270.000423
  • 2026-A01111-50 (Other Grant/Funding Number: ANSM)

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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