Project S.A.V.E
Stop Adolescent Violence Everywhere

PI: Mallory Dobias, BS
Co-PIs: Jessica Schleider, PhD; Kathryn Fox, PhD

Supported by Psi Chi International Honor Society​
PROJECT SUMMARY: Lifetime prevalence for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) increases sharply across adolescent development. However, effects of interventions targeting SITBs are small and inconsistent. Further, existing treatments are often inaccessible—even among adolescents in urgent need of mental health care. For those who do initially seek help, treatment uptake is low and attrition is high. More than 25% of adolescents do not attend scheduled, post-discharge outpatient appointments following a suicide attempt, and ~11% attend only one appointment. Suicidal thoughts fluctuate dramatically within a daily, and even hourly, basis—making it less likely that adolescents will have access to care when they most need it. Single-session interventions (SSIs), well-targeted, accessible interventions designed to last one session, may be a low-cost and timely resource for vulnerable adolescents who may not otherwise receive treatment in their time of need. A novel, web-based SSI specifically addresses two commonly reported functions of self-injury in youth: emotion regulation and self-punishment. This project will test whether this novel, online intervention reduces 3-month frequency of non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation, relative to an active control group program, in a large sample of adolescents (N ~ 500). Results may identify a low-cost, easy-to-disseminate intervention for SITBs within a high-risk sample. Trial preregistration:  Open Science Framework; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 04498143

Project SAVE primary results: Dobias, M.L., Schleider, J.L., Jans, L., & Fox, K.R. (in press). An online, single-session intervention for adolescent self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: Results from a randomized trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy. Preprint

Secondary projects using Project SAVE data:

Fan, K., Dobias, M., Ahuvia, I., Fox, K., & Schleider, J. L. (in prep). Relationships between identity-based discrimination, socioeconomic status, and mental health treatment access among self-injurious adolescents. Pre-registration

Deng, W., Dobias, M., Manvelian, A., & Schleider, J. L. (in prep).  Suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury in sexual minority youth of Color. Pre-registration
Empowering Anxious Parents to Manage Child Avoidance Behaviors
Project EMPOWER
​(Formerly Project BRAVE)

PIs: Jenna Sung, BA; Emma Mumper, PhD
Co-PI: Jessica Schleider, PhD

Supported by Psi Chi International Honor Society​
PROJECT SUMMARY: Efforts to develop and disseminate evidence-based practices (EBPs) for youth anxiety have made great strides. Still, up to 82.2% of youth who need mental health treatment for anxiety never access care or drop-out from treatment prematurely. Commonly barriers to treatment include provider shortages, transportation limitations, financial burdens, and gatekeeping behaviors by caretakers, creating a need for accessible, scalable interventions that can ameliorate the global burden of youth anxiety—including those that help prevent the onset of anxiety disorders in at-risk children. Single session interventions (SSIs), which have prevented and reduced child anxiety across numerous trials to date, may offer a promising solution, given their potential disseminability and cost-effectiveness. This randomized trial will evaluate the acceptability and short-term effects of a novel, web-based, self-guided SSI for parents (N=300), designed to systematically reduce parent accommodation—a parenting behavior identified as a strong risk factor for anxiety in offspring. Study aims are three-fold: (1) to examine the SSI’s short-term effects on parental accommodation, relative to an information-only control; (2) to assess the SSI’s short-term effects on parents’ perceived ability to help their children manage distressing situations; and (3) to evaluate the SSI’s feasibility and acceptability. We will recruit parents reporting elevated anxiety levels, as children of anxious parents are at particular risk for developing anxiety symptoms themselves. Results may suggest a promising approach to preventing anxiety in at-risk children.

​As of January 2021, data collection for our initial Project EMPOWER trial (N = 300) is complete and primary outcomes have been published in JMIR: Mental Health. Data collection for our open-access program evaluation of Project EMPOWER is ongoing.

Randomized Trial preregistration:  ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04453865 

Pre-registration for open-access program evaluation of Project EMPOWER: https://osf.io/maqw5

Initial Trial results: Pre-Print (accepted for publication, Journal of Medical Internet Research: Mental Health​)
The College Goals Project

PIs: Michael Mullarkey, PhD; Jessica Schleider, PhD
Co-I: Nicole Leavey, PhD

In collaboration with Stony Brook University's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science
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 PROJECT SUMMARY: Up to 31% of current college students currently meet criteria for Major Depression (MD). Even students experiencing subclinical depression symptoms have more alcohol related problems, earn worse grades, and are more likely to drop out of college compared to less depressed students. However, up to 80% of students with depression do not receive treatment, and increasing demand for treatment cannot be effectively met by brick and mortar clinics alone. This project aims to address some of this increasing demand by implementing a single session intervention for depression on a college campus. This intervention was developed by synthesizing knowledge from symptom level depression research and best practices for brief interventions. Our previous research indicates self-dislike is the most central symptom in college student depression – it best predicts whether students will be experiencing other depression symptoms. This project will test whether our intervention can reduce self-dislike and depression symptoms in college students. We will also examine the intervention's effects on theoretically related constructs such as empathy and hopelessness. College students on Stony Brook’s campus will be universally invited to participate in the intervention, and we will test whether our intervention reduces self-dislike and other depression symptoms compared to a placebo control across one month. Results may provide a scalable, low-burden option to reduce depression in college students. 

​As of April 2021, data collection for College Goals Project is complete; analyses are underway.

Trial preregistration:  ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04082052
The BEST-TECH Project
Building Evidence-based Supports for Teens via Technology

PI: Jessica Schleider, PhD
Co-I: Michael Mullarkey, MA, PhD Candidate
Co-I: John Weisz, PhD

Supported by Limbix Health, Inc.

PROJECT SUMMARY: Depression is the leading cause of disability in youth, with a global economic burden of US >$210 billion annually. However, up to 70% of youth with depression do not receive services. Even among those who do access treatment, 30% to 65% fail to respond and many dropout prematurely, demonstrating a need for more potent, accessible interventions. In a previous trial, a single-session Web-based growth mindset (GM) intervention significantly reduced depressive symptoms in high-symptom adolescents; however, this intervention did not benefit adolescents uniformly. For instance, the intervention reduced depression in adolescents who reported post intervention increases in perceived control, but it did not lead to significant depression reductions in adolescents who reported no significant post intervention increases in perceived control. Accordingly, the goal of this project is to test the acceptability and efficacy of a novel, single-session, virtual reality (VR) depression intervention—the VR Personality Project—teaching GM, the belief that personal attributes are malleable rather than fixed. The VR Personality Project was designed to systematically target and increase adolescents’ perceived control by offering a more immersive, engaging, user-directed intervention experience than the Web-based intervention can provide. By targeting an identified predictor of intervention response, the VR Personality Project may lead to larger reductions in depressive symptoms than existing Web-based mindset interventions. Adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms or a recent history of depression (N=159; ages 12 to 16 years) will be randomized to one of 3 intervention conditions: the VR Personality Project; the Web-based GM intervention tested previously; or an active, Web-based control. Adolescents and their parents will report on the adolescents’ depression symptoms, perceived control, and related domains of functioning at preintervention, postintervention, and at 3- and 9-month follow-up assessments. Results may suggest an efficient strategy for reducing adolescent depressive symptoms: One that is mechanism-targeted, relatively affordable (less than US $200 for a commercially available VR headset, a fraction of the cost of long-term psychotherapy) and potentially engaging to adolescents experiencing mood-related distress.

As of April 2021, data collection is complete for BEST-TECH; data cleaning and analysis are underway.
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​Trial preregistration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03858881
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/13368