Social Interaction Perceptions for Mental Illness
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
Age: 18 - 65
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
Disqualifiers: Neurological disorder, Substance use, others
No Placebo Group
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?The proposed research will test the hypothesis that objective social isolation and loneliness are linked to neurobehavioral mechanisms involved in social perception and motivation in individuals with and without serious mental illness. Moreover, it will investigate the specific dynamic interactions among these experiences in daily life and how they, and their neurobehavioral predictors, are linked to day-to-day functioning. The findings of this project could provide novel targets for therapeutics aimed at improving functioning and overall quality of life in individuals with serious mental illnesses, as well as quantitative phenotypes for use in early detection efforts.
Will I have to stop taking my current medications?
The trial does not specify if you need to stop taking your current medications, but you cannot participate if you've had a recent change in medication.
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment EMA for improving social interaction perceptions in mental illness?
The research suggests that addressing social isolation and loneliness is crucial for people with serious mental illness, and treatments like support groups have been effective in reducing the unmet need for friendship and social connectedness, which are important for recovery.
12345Is the treatment generally safe for humans?
Research on medications for mental health shows that while newer treatments may have fewer side effects than older ones, there are still risks of side effects like weight gain, dry mouth, and sedation. Most people report experiencing at least one side effect, and many find them distressing.
678910How does this treatment for mental illness differ from other treatments?
This treatment focuses on changing social perceptions and reducing stigma associated with mental illness, which is different from traditional treatments that often focus on managing symptoms through medication or therapy. By addressing social exclusion and stigma, it aims to improve social interactions and acceptance for individuals with mental illness.
1112131415Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for individuals aged 18-55 who have experienced serious mental illnesses like psychosis, schizophrenia, or mood disorders. Participants must speak English fluently and not have had any recent medication changes or acute symptoms. They can't join if they've used substances in the past 6 months, have neurological issues, MRI scan exclusions like metal implants, or severe claustrophobia.Inclusion Criteria
I have had a psychotic or mood disorder.
I am between 18 and 55 years old.
Exclusion Criteria
I am not fluent in English.
I recently changed my medication or started having new symptoms.
Standard exclusion criteria for participation in an MRI scan (e.g., presence of metal in the body, claustrophobia, history of head trauma)
+1 more
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Ecological Momentary Assessment
EMA collected daily (4x/day) for two weeks to measure transient changes in social isolation and loneliness
2 weeks
Daily assessments (remote)
Longitudinal Assessment
Measure stable neural and behavioral predictors of social isolation and loneliness, and their impact on real-world functioning
6 months
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after the main assessments
4 weeks
Participant Groups
The study examines how social isolation and loneliness affect brain behavior related to social perception and motivation in people with serious mental illness. It uses EMA (Ecological Momentary Assessment) to track these experiences in real-time and their impact on daily functioning.
1Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: Ecological Momentary AssessmentExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
EMA collected daily (4x/day) for two weeks
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestown, MA
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Massachusetts General HospitalLead Sponsor
Boston UniversityCollaborator
References
[Negative symptoms predict the improvement of social functioning of patients with schizophrenia]. [2018]To identify predictive factors associated with the improvement of social functioning of schizophrenia patients in a community.
Unmet Needs of People with Serious Mental Illness: Perspectives from Certified Peer Specialists. [2020]Examine the unmet needs of people with serious mental illness (SMI) from the perspective of certified peer specialists. 267 certified peer specialists from 38 states completed an online survey (female [73%], 50.9 [SD = 12] years, and non-Hispanic White [79.8%]). Many respondents reported a primary mental health diagnoses (n = 200), 22 respondents reported their diagnosis as schizophrenia spectrum disorder (11%), 46 respondents reported bipolar disorder (22.1%), 47 respondents reported major depressive disorder (22.6%), 29 respondents reported post-traumatic stress disorder (13.9%), 27 respondents reported alcohol/substance use disorder (13%), 2 respondents reported personality disorder (1%), and 12 reported "other" (5.8%). A mixed methods convergence analysis integrated quantitative with qualitative data. Social isolation (n = 160, 59.9%) and feeling lonely (n = 159, 59.6%) were the most highly endorsed unmet need, followed by the need to address chronic health conditions (n = 80, 30%), prevent mental health hospitalization (n = 71, 23.6%), and prevent drug use (n = 66, 24.7%). Four themes emerged: need to address basic necessities, loneliness and social isolation, hope, and addiction. Addressing loneliness and social isolation were identified as the primary unmet needs among people with SMI. Addressing co-morbid health conditions may simultaneously impact other unmet needs. Hope is an important intervention target. Initial insights from this study can be used to guide researchers' efforts to incorporate certified peer specialists perspectives in developing programs to meet the needs of people with SMI. Future research using participatory research methods can further examine these initial insights.
Ecological momentary assessment of everyday social experiences of people with schizophrenia: A systematic review. [2021]Our goal in the current review was to summarize the existing literature on the utility of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in assessing the social experiences of people with schizophrenia (SZ). We were further interested in examining the associations between EMA-reported social outcomes and traditional assessments of social functioning.
Measuring Group Process in Nurse-Facilitated Support Groups for Psychosocial Club Members. [2020]Nearly half of patients with serious mental illness (SMI) lack friends and social connectedness-building blocks of recovery. While support groups have been found to promote friendship-building, there is little information about the process. This study examined the use of nurse-facilitated support groups by Psychosocial club members with SMI. Participation, core members, therapeutic factors, content discussed, and satisfaction with the intervention were measured. Perception of unmet need for a friend and membership in a group was measured before and after the intervention. Participation increased over time. Core members emerged. Yalom's therapeutic factors evolved. Discussion included sexually transmitted diseases, safety, making friends, health problems, problems with landlords, and adverse events such as victimization. The unmet need for a friend decreased. Two-thirds were satisfied with the groups. Support groups are low-cost psychosocial interventions that can be used to help patients with SMI move toward recovery.
The Social Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFS): a brief measure of functional status in persons with schizophrenia. [2022]The social functioning of persons with schizophrenia contributes to their overall functional outcome and ability to live in the community. Enhancing the level of social functioning is an important treatment goal. The present study describes the development of the Social Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFS), a brief, yet comprehensive, easy to administer measure of social functioning for use in busy clinical settings. It has adequate psychometric properties in terms of reliability and validity. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure comprising of adaptive living skills, social appropriateness and interpersonal skills, accounting for 59% of the variance in total SOFS score.
Comparison of increasingly detailed elicitation methods for the assessment of adverse events in pediatric psychopharmacology. [2007]To improve the gathering of adverse events (AEs) in pediatric psychopharmacology by examining the value and acceptability of increasingly detailed elicitation methods.
The use of Enhancing Quality Use of Medication Self-Reported Questionniare (EQUIM-SRQ) among mental health consumers: a pilot study. [2015]To assess the applicability, interpretability and potential limitations of an adverse event screening questionnaire (the Enhancing Quality Use of Medication Self-Reported Questionnaire [EQUIM-SRQ]) in an Australian mental health outpatient population.
Development of prescribing safety indicators related to mental health disorders and medications: Modified e-Delphi study. [2021]To develop a set of prescribing safety indicators related to mental health disorders and medications, and to estimate the risk of harm associated with each indicator.
Assessing the burden of treatment-emergent adverse events associated with atypical antipsychotic medications. [2018]Treatment of schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) with atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) show improved efficacy and reduced side effect burden compared with older antipsychotic medications. However, a risk of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) remains. TEAEs are hard to quantify and perspectives on the importance of TEAEs differ across patients and between patients and physicians. The current study is a qualitative assessment that investigates TEAEs of AAPs from both patient and physician perspectives to provide better understanding of the occurrence and burden of TEAEs associated with these medications.
Distress with medication side effects among persons with severe mental illness. [2007]We examined prevalence and perceived distress resulting from self-reported side effects (SEs) attributed to psychotropic medications among individuals with severe mental illness participating in a study of consumer-operated services. We examined gender and racial differences using logistic regression, conducted factor analyses of SEs, and examined correlations between distress and self-reported symptoms. Over 90% reported at least one SE, and nearly two-thirds reported a high level of distress with at least one SE. The most distressing SEs reported were embarrassment from weight gain, weight gain, dry mouth, and sedation. The likelihood of distress by particular SEs varied by gender and race.
Stigma towards individuals with schizophrenia: Examining the effects of negative symptoms and diagnosis awareness on preference for social distance. [2021]Social exclusion towards individuals with schizophrenia can occur as a result of stigmatizing attitudes towards the diagnosis or as a response to observing atypical behaviours resulting from symptoms. The present study examined social exclusion towards schizophrenia as a function of diagnosis awareness and presence of negative symptoms. 64 healthy participants watched four different videos of confederates who were either labelled / not labelled with schizophrenia and displayed / did not display negative symptoms. Participants ranked their preference for social interaction with individuals in ten different activities and were told that they would complete the activities based on their rankings. A significant interaction between label and symptoms was found as knowledge of diagnosis increased desire for social distance if symptoms were absent and decreased desire for social distance if symptoms were present. A main effect of symptom presence was also found as participants displayed greater desire to complete activities with individuals not displaying symptoms than participants displaying symptoms but there was no effect of diagnostic label. Social exclusion appears to be dependent on both presence of negative symptoms and knowledge of diagnosis. It may be useful to focus on increasing public acceptance of specific symptom presentations in public mental health campaigns.
The measurement properties of stigmatizing attitudes towards mental disorders: results from two community surveys. [2022]Stigma is a well-documented concern of people living with mental illness. Through the use of novel exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) methods, we aimed to elucidate the structure of stigma as measured by two stigma scales (the Depression Stigma Scale and the Social Distance Scale), to establish dimensions of stigma towards a range of disorders and to compare levels on these dimensions between disorders and respondent subgroups. We used data from two Australian national surveys, one of the general community aged 15+ and another of youths aged 15-25. Stigma responses were elicited using a range of mental illness vignettes: depression, schizophrenia, social phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ESEM revealed that the structure of stigmatizing attitudes in young people and adults is comparable in personally held attitudes and those perceived in others. Personal and perceived stigma formed distinct dimensions with each comprising "Weak-not-sick" and "Dangerous/unpredictable" components. The social distance dimension of stigma was separate from other components of stigma, supporting the appropriateness of the existing Social Distance Scale. Scales reflecting these dimensions had different patterns of association with respondent age and gender, and the type of mental disorder portrayed in the vignette.
Experiences of interpersonal interaction among patients with chronic schizophrenia: A phenomenological study. [2021]To explore the subjective interpersonal interaction experiences of patients with chronic schizophrenia.
A Pilot Study Evaluating the Stigma and Public Perception about the Causes of Depression and Schizophrenia. [2021]To evaluate public perceptions towards the causes of depression and schizophrenia and identifications of factors resulting stigma towards mental ill.
Differences in attributions of mental illness and social distance for portrayals of four mental disorders. [2020]For individuals with mental illness, others' perceptions of mental illness often limit integration into communities. Perceptions of mental illness manifest as social stigma in the form of social distance and may depend on individuals' attributions of the origins of mental illness. 180 university students completed a survey on attribution of mental illness and social distance across several disorders (psychiatric and physical). Participants indicated greater social distance for severe mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia) than less severe mental illness and physical illness. More desire for social distance may be related to unfamiliarity with severe mental illness rather than less severe mental and physical illnesses. Greater understanding of how individuals perceive mental illness can inform efforts to educate the public.