Measuring Beliefs and Norms About Persons With Mental Illness

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Mental Illness; Schizophrenia; Depression; Bipolar Disorder
• Interventions: Other: Survey questionnaire

• Registration Number: NCT03656770
• Lead Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital

Brief Summary

Survey experiment to estimate drivers of mental illness stigma

Detailed Description

Despite significant advances in scientific understanding of brain and substance use disorders accompanied by significant advances in treatment and improvements in prognosis, mental illness remains highly stigmatized throughout the world. Previous studies suggest that portraying mental illness as treatable can reduce negative attitudes toward persons with mental illness. This randomized controlled trial compares the effects of exposing study participants to vignettes portraying persons with untreated and symptomatic mental illness vs. treated mental illness with complete response vs. treated mental illness with relapse. It is hypothesized, based on prior work, that study participants exposed to vignettes depicting treated mental illness with completed response would have the greatest effect on reducing negative attitudes toward persons with mental illness, followed by treated mental illness with relapse and untreated and symptomatic mental illness.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2016-12-13
• Primary Completion: 2018-06-08
• Study Completion: 2018-06-08
• Study First Submitted: 2018-08-29
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-08-30
• Study First Posted: 2018-09-04
• Status Verified: 2019-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-08-08
• Last Update Posted: 2019-08-12

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1782

Inclusion Criteria

• all persons who considered Nyakabare Parish their primary place of residence and who were capable of providing consent

Exclusion Criteria

• minors younger than 18 years of age, with the exception of emancipated minors
• persons who did not consider Nyakabare their primary place of residence, e.g., persons who happened to be visiting Nyakabare at the time of the survey or who owned a home in Nyakabare but spent most of their time outside the parish
• persons with whom research staff could not communicate, e.g., due to deafness, mutism, or aphasia
• persons with psychosis, neurological damage, acute intoxication, or other cognitive impairment (all of which were determined informally in the field by non-clinical research staff in consultation with a supervisor)

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Version 5: Bipolar	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with untreated and symptomatic bipolar disorder.
V7: Bipolar + Tx with Relapse	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with bipolar disorder, successfully treated with partial relapse.
V4: Schizophrenia + Tx with Relapse	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with schizophrenia, successfully treated with partial relapse.
V6: Bipolar + Tx with Response	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with bipolar disorder, successfully treated with complete response.
V2: Schizophrenia	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with untreated and symptomatic schizophrenia.
V8: Depression	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with untreated and symptomatic major depressive disorder.
V3: Schizophrenia + Tx with Response	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with schizophrenia, successfully treated with complete response.
V10: Depression + Tx with Relapse	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with major depressive disorder, successfully treated with partial relapse.
V9: Depression + Tx with Response	Survey questionnaire	As this is a survey experiment, the "intervention" involves random assignment to a survey questionnaire with specific wording. This version of the survey questionnaire depicts a young woman with major depressive disorder, successfully treated with complete response.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Social Distance	Immediate (assessed with respect to the study participant's beliefs at a single time point, which is the time at which the survey is administered)	Willingness to have the woman portrayed in the vignette to marry into the study participant's family (single item culturally adapted instrument developed specifically for this study)
Perceived Norms about Social Distance	Immediate (assessed with respect to the study participant's beliefs at a single time point, which is the time at which the survey is administered)	Study participant's perception of the extent to which other people would be willing to have the woman portrayed in the vignette to marry into their families (single item culturally adapted instrument developed specifically for this study)
Negative Attitudes (Attribution)	Immediate (assessed with respect to the study participant's beliefs at a single time point, which is the time at which the survey is administered)	Personal belief that the symptoms of the woman portrayed in the vignette represent divine punishment (single item culturally adapted instrument developed specifically for this study)
Perceived Norms about Negative Attitudes (Attribution)	Immediate (assessed with respect to the study participant's beliefs at a single time point, which is the time at which the survey is administered)	Study participant's perception of the extent to which other people believe that the symptoms of the woman portrayed in the vignette represent divine punishment (single item culturally adapted instrument developed specifically for this study)
Negative Attitudes (Shame)	Immediate (assessed with respect to the study participant's beliefs at a single time point, which is the time at which the survey is administered)	Personal belief that the symptoms of the woman portrayed in the vignette bring shame upon her family
Perceived Norms about Negative Attitudes (Shame)	Immediate (assessed with respect to the study participant's beliefs at a single time point, which is the time at which the survey is administered)	Study participant's perception of the extent to which other people believe that the symptoms of the woman portrayed in the vignette bring shame upon her family (single item culturally adapted instrument developed specifically for this study)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Mbarara University of Science and Technology; 🇺🇬 Mbarara, Uganda