An interventional study of school-based depression literacy program in Depressive Symptoms and Mental Health (Depression), sponsored by Chang Hsiu-Ju. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 15 Years to 19 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-27.
Sponsored by Chang Hsiu-Ju · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The primary purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of an AI chatbot enhanced school-based depression literacy psychoeducational program, combined with a resource navigation booklet, on high school students in Taiwan.
Despite the high prevalence of depression among adolescents, the treatment gap remains significantly large due to low mental health literacy and high stigma. This study aims to bridge this gap by implementing a 4-week structured psychoeducational intervention. The investigators hypothesize that participants in the experimental group will demonstrate a significant improvement in depression literacy, a reduction in stigmatizing attitudes toward depression, and more positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help compared to those in the control group (regular classes as usual). Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and immediately post-intervention.
Depression is a leading cause of disability among adolescents globally, yet a significant treatment gap remains, with up to 70 to 90 percent of adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms failing to receive adequate professional care. Major barriers to accessing appropriate treatment include a widespread lack of mental health literacy and pervasive public and personal stigma surrounding psychological disorders. This study aims to address these barriers by investigating whether a structured psychoeducational intervention can effectively improve depression literacy, reduce stigma, and enhance positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among high school students.
This study employs a quantitative, randomized controlled trial design to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed psychoeducation intervention. The study population consists of 15 to 19-year-old students recruited from public and private high schools in Taiwan, who will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group.
Participants assigned to the experimental group will receive an AI chatbot enhanced structured, school-based depression literacy psychoeducation program consisting of four weekly 50-minute sessions. The curriculum is designed to cover the etiology of depression, symptom recognition, and strategies for stigma reduction, and will conclude with the distribution of a physical resource navigation booklet that serves as an actionable emotional first-aid kit detailing local help-seeking channels. Conversely, participants in the control group will receive regular classed as usual, maintaining their standard school curriculum and routine health education classes without exposure to this specific depression literacy intervention.
8,577 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression; 1,720 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 720 is above the median of 81 across 7,063 interventional studies indexed under Depression.
Browse Depression studies →Chang Hsiu-Ju is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.
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Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A 4-week AI chatbot enhanced school-based depression literacy psychoeducation program consisting of four weekly 50-minute sessions and the distribution of a resource navigation booklet. The sessions cover the causes of depression, symptom recognition, and stigma reduction.
Behavioral: school-based depression literacy program
Participants did not receive the school-based depression literacy program and continued their standard school curriculum and routine health education classes without additional intervention.
The structured psychoeducational program comprises four weekly 50-minute sessions that target knowledge of depression (causes and symptom recognition) and strategies for stigma reduction. A physical "Resource Navigation Booklet" is provided to serve as an actionable emotional first-aid kit detailing local help-seeking channels.
Change in Stigmatizing Attitudes toward Depression
Assessed by the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS). The scale measures both personal and perceived stigma. Lower scores indicate lower levels of stigmatizing attitudes toward depression.
Time frame: Baseline (1 week prior to intervention) and Immediate Post-test (within 1-2 weeks after the 4-week intervention).
Change in Depression Literacy
Assessed by the Depression Literacy Questionnaire (D-Lit). Higher scores indicate better mental health literacy and understanding of depression.
Time frame: Baseline (1 week prior to intervention) and Immediate Post-test (within 1-2 weeks after the 4-week intervention).
Change in Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help
Assessed by the full 29-item Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPHS). Higher scores indicate more positive attitudes and greater willingness to seek professional mental health services.
Time frame: Baseline (1 week prior to intervention) and Immediate Post-test (within 1-2 weeks after the 4-week intervention).
Depressive Symptom Severity
Assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The PHQ-9 is a 9-item self-report scale with total scores ranging from 0 to 27. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms. In this study, the PHQ-9 is utilized purely for observational and safety monitoring purposes rather than evaluating treatment efficacy. The initial measurement serves as a baseline reference covariate and a safety screening tool, while the post-test measurement monitors participants' general psychological status following the educational program.
Time frame: Baseline (1 week prior to the intervention) and Immediate Post-test (within 1-2 weeks after the 4-week intervention).
System Usability of the AI Chatbot
Assessed by the System Usability Scale (SUS). The SUS is a 10-item questionnaire evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale, designed to measure the usability, learnability, and user satisfaction of the AI Chatbot integrated into the intervention program. The item scores are converted and summed to a final score ranging from 0 to 100, where higher scores represent better system usability and user acceptance. Note: This measure is administered exclusively to participants in the experimental group, as they are the sole users of the AI Chatbot.
Time frame: Immediate Post-test (within 1-2 weeks after the 4-week intervention).
Plan to share: No — We do not plan to share IPD due to privacy concerns, legal restrictions, institutional policies, or no consent from participants. Our ethics approval or consent form does not allow sharing.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Aug 2026; primary completion for May 2027, 9 months later.
Of 3,468 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Depression, half reached primary completion within 21 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 41. This study's planned 9 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 3,566 studies reached it within 21 months; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 41.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Chang Hsiu-Ju