An interventional study of Video Intervention 1 and Video Intervention 2 in Anxiety, Depression and Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 45 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-11.
Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research
Major depressive and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in the general population and are a leading cause of disability. Black adults have a high burden of depression and anxiety. This study aims to assess a self- administered video-based intervention to reduce mental illness stigma and medical mistrust among Black adults with moderate to severe depression or anxiety.
Major depressive and anxiety disorders affect 57.3 million adults in the U.S. These disorders are also highly stigmatized. Stigma refers to negative attitudes or beliefs about mental illness, or negative behaviors directed toward persons with mental illness (PWMI) is a leading and fundamental cause of health inequities.
The efficacy and precision of anti- stigma interventions to improve mental health outcomes among underserved Black adults are grossly limited and represent a critical public health gap. Studies show stigma compounds disabilities related to the primary symptoms of mental illness and increases morbidity and premature mortality related to mental illness. Compared with white adults, Black adults with mental illness have more chronic disease, and more severe illness at presentation. Meta-analyses have consistently shown that both face-to-face and video-based contact with individuals with mental illness can reduce stigma. Recent studies that distinguished contact delivery showed effect size for video-based contact to be comparable to face-to-face contact. Contact interventions, which are premised on the idea that positive and voluntary contact with PWMI can effectively reduce mental illness stigma, are aimed at reducing stigma and improving health outcomes.
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a self-administered, video-based mobile app intervention aimed at reducing mental illness stigma among Black adults. Black adults with moderate to severe depression or anxiety will be recruited to participate in the Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three arms: two video-based intervention arms and one waitlist control arm. The video-based intervention will include first-hand lived experience stories of mental health and one's recovery journey.
4,868 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,390 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 90 is above the median of 80 across 4,174 interventional studies indexed under Anxiety Disorders.
Browse Anxiety Disorders studies →Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,536 studies on the registry; 446 are open to participants now.
Of its 214 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 161 (75%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
The video intervention #1 will involve videos of patients describing personal narratives of mental illness, treatment and recovery, and will be delivered over 4 weeks (with two booster sessions in week 6 and 12). Assessments will be completed over 12 months from date of randomization.
Behavioral: Video Intervention 1
The video intervention #2 will involve videos of patients describing personal narratives of mental illness, treatment and recovery, and will be delivered over 4 weeks (with two booster sessions in week 6 and 12). Assessments will be completed over 12 months from date of randomization.
Behavioral: Video Intervention 2
After the completion of the 6-month waitlist period, the experimental video intervention will be provided. The intervention will involve videos of patients describing personal narratives of mental illness, treatment and recovery, and will be delivered over 4 weeks (with two booster sessions in week 6 and 12). The intervention offered after the waitlist period will follow video intervention 1 (experimental arm).
Behavioral: Video Intervention 3
A self-administered video-based mobile app with narratives on mental illness. The content of the videos consists of individuals sharing their personal experiences with depression and anxiety.
A self-administered video-based mobile app with narratives on mental illness. The content of the videos consists of individuals sharing their personal experiences with depression and anxiety.
An experimental self-administered video-based mobile app with narratives on mental illness after the waitlist period has been completed. The content of the videos consists of individuals sharing their personal experiences with depression and anxiety.
Treatment Inventory of Costs in Patients with Psychiatric Disorders
An adapted version to evaluate the utilization of mental health care services. The self-report questionnaire includes single item questions that will be used such as, "How many appointments have you attended at a Mental Health Care Institution in the past 3 months? Or at another mental health treatment facility?" and "In the past 3 months, how many appointments have you had with a psychologist, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist at a hospital?". Response options are qualitative: "no appointments" or providing the number of appointments attended. The test-retest reliability based on Cohen's Kappa was 0.649. Construct validity was assessed through the number of contacts recorded in the registration data, with a high correlation (ρ = 0.791).
Time frame: 12 months post intervention
Release of Information Form
The release of information form will be used to objectively measure the utilization of mental healthcare services by identifying visits made to these services. More or less visits is dependent on patient needs and does not have an intrinsic positive or negative value.
Time frame: 12 months post intervention
Reported and Intended Behavior Scale
The Reported and Intended Behavior Scale includes 4 questions on each of the reported and intended behaviors. Items 1-4 are binary, "yes" or "no". Items 5-8 are evaluated using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The total score ranges from a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 20. Higher scores indicate less stigma (less desire for social distance) and lower scores indicate higher stigma (more desire for social distance). The test-retest reliability was 0.75, and internal consistency, based on Cronbach's alpha among items 5-8, was 0.85.
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 12 months post-intervention
Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness
The Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness is a 29-item measure with subscales that assess enacted and internalized stigma. Each item is evaluated using a four-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The total score ranges from a minimum of 29 to a maximum of 116. The higher scores indicate more internalized stigma. The original Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness reported test-retest reliability of 0.92.
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 12 months post-intervention
The Group Based Medical Mistrust Scale
The Group Based Medical Mistrust Scale is a 12 -item scale to measure race-based medical mistrust; it has strong validity and reliability. Each item is evaluated using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The total score ranges from a minimum of 12 to a maximum of 60. Higher scores indicate greater medical mistrust.The Cronbach alpha for the full measure in previous studies was α=0.87-0.88. The total score and its three subscales were positively correlated with avoidance of health care (total score: p\<0.0001; r=0.344).
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 12 months post-intervention
Group Help Seeking Questionnaire
The Group Help Seeking Questionnaire contains 10-items repeated for two problems (personal emotional and suicidal emotions). Each item is evaluated using a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (extremely unlikely) to 7 (extremely likely). The total score ranges from a minimum of 20 to a maximum of 140. Higher scores indicate higher help seeking intentions. Cronbach alpha for the full measure in previous studies was α=0.91. The perceived quality of previous mental health care was positively related to intentions to seek help from a mental health professional for personal-emotional problems, rs(55) = 0.51, p \< 0.001, and suicidal thoughts, rs(54) = 0.57, p \< 0.001.
Time frame: Pre-intervention and up to 12 months post-intervention
Plan to share: No
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Massachusetts General Hospital