Table 3Overview of Characteristics of Included Clinical Trials

Author (year),a study design, setting, funding source Participant characteristics Intervention and comparator Outcomes (ascertainment method), length of follow-up
Conley et al. (2020)39

Associated: Hundert et al. (2021)40

RCT

3 university campuses in the US

Funding not reported

118 university students who self-identified as having a mental health illness or mental health challenge

Participants were 82% female; mean age = 21.4 (SD = 6.6) years; primarily White (69%); 67% heterosexual; with clinical depression (59%) and/or anxiety (69%).b

Honest, Open, Proud–College (HOP-C), which aimed to reduce self-stigma about mental illness and help participants to make decisions about disclosure.

Format: 3-week peer-led, manualized,52 in-person group program with weekly 2-hour lessons; 1 booster workshop 2 to 3 weeks later.

Facilitators: students who identified as living with mental health concerns and completed a 2-day training.

Comparator: Waitlist

Self-stigma (SSMIS-SF); stress and coping (Stigma Stress Scale); self-efficacy about disclosure (single item); depression symptoms (CES-D-10); anxiety symptoms (GAD-7). No safety outcomes reported.

All outcomes assessed at baseline (T0), post-program (T1), post-booster (T2). 2-month follow-up (T3) reported in a population subset (n = 55).40

Mulfinger et al. (2018)50

RCT

Inpatient wards and outpatient psychiatry clinics in Germany

Academic and foundation funding

98 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years with at least 1 self-reported current axis I or axis II mental health concern and a moderate or severe level of disclosure-related distress.

Participants were 69% female; mean age = 15.8 (SD = 1.1) years; 95% born in Germany; with clinical depression (59%) and/or anxiety (17%).b

Honest, Open, Proud (HOP) which aimed to reduce self-stigma about mental illness and help participants to make decisions about disclosure.

Format: 3-week peer-led, manualized,52 in-person group program with weekly 2-hour lessons.

Facilitators: young adults with lived experience of mental illness who had completed training and a young mental health professional.

Comparator: TAU

Stigma stress (Stigma Stress Scale); HRQoL (KIDSCREEN-10); empowerment (Empowerment Scale); disclosure-related distress (4-item questionnaire); hopelessness (Beck Hopelessness Scale); self-stigma (ISMI-SF and SSMIS-SF); help-seeking (General Help-Seeking Questionnaire), recovery (Self-Identified Stage of Recovery Scale); secrecy and social withdrawal (Link Stigma Coping Orientation Scales); depressive symptoms (CES-D)

All outcomes assessed at baseline (T0), post-program (T1), and at 6-months follow-up (T2).

CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression; CES-D-10 = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, 10-item version; GAD = Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item; ISMI-SF = Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness-Short Form; RCT = randomized controlled trial; SD = standard deviation; SSMIS-SF = Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale–Short Form; TAU = treatment as usual.

a

Studies appear in reverse chronological order by date of publication.

b

Detailed demographic characteristics of the study population is presented in Table 8.

From: Peer Support Programs for Youth Mental Health

Cover of Peer Support Programs for Youth Mental Health
Peer Support Programs for Youth Mental Health: Health Technology Assessment [Internet].
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