Does Online Peer Counselling Help in Reducing Suicidal Ideation? Outcome-Evaluation of [U25] Germany.

IF 2 3区医学 Q2 PSYCHIATRY

Archives of Suicide Research Pub Date : 2025-08-14 DOI:10.1080/13811118.2025.2544766

Anja Hildebrand, Maren Weiss, Abinaya Fernando, Mark Stemmler

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: Cross-sectional and qualitative studies suggest that online peer counseling have potential benefits in addressing suicidality among adolescents and young adults. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of [U25], a low-threshold online peer counseling service provided in Germany.

Method: A non-randomized, longitudinal study design with control group was conducted to measure outcomes at baseline as well as four weeks, three months and six months after baseline. The control group consists of young adults who inform themselves about the service on the internet but do not register for counseling. Primary outcomes included service utilization, suicidal ideation, psychopathological symptoms and life adversities. The original sample consisted of N = 1250 young adults (treatment group: n = 210, control group: n = 1040). After propensity score matching, the treatment and control group each comprised n = 210 participants.

Results: Service utilization increased in the CG but not in the TG. Suicidal ideation and psychopathological symptoms decreased for both groups across all time points. [U25] did not lead to greater symptom reduction compared to the control group. No differences were found in the number of life adversities.

Conclusions: The results indicate that a large number of young adults with suicidal thoughts and other mental health issues feel supported by the U25 platform. However, similar symptom reduction was obtained in the treatment and control group. This result could be explained by the increased support utilization in the control group, which warrants further investigation. This study can serve as a framework for future research with larger sample sizes to further explore and validate these findings.

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在线同伴咨询是否有助于减少自杀意念？[U25]德国的成果评价。

目的：横断面和定性研究表明，在线同伴咨询在解决青少年和年轻人的自杀问题方面有潜在的好处。本研究旨在评估德国提供的低门槛在线同伴咨询服务[U25]的有效性。方法：采用非随机、纵向研究设计，与对照组一起测量基线及基线后4周、3个月和6个月的结果。对照组由年轻人组成，他们在互联网上了解这项服务，但没有登记咨询。主要结局包括服务利用、自杀意念、精神病理症状和生活逆境。原始样本包括N = 1250名年轻人（治疗组：N = 210，对照组：N = 1040）。倾向评分匹配后，实验组和对照组各有n = 210名参与者。结果：服务利用率在CG组增加，而在TG组没有增加。两组的自杀意念和精神病理症状在所有时间点上都有所下降。与对照组相比，[U25]并没有导致更大的症状减轻。在生活逆境的数量上没有发现差异。结论：研究结果表明，大量有自杀念头和其他心理健康问题的年轻人感受到U25平台的支持。然而，治疗组和对照组的症状减轻程度相似。这一结果可以解释为对照组的支持利用增加，值得进一步调查。本研究可以作为未来更大样本量研究的框架，进一步探索和验证这些发现。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Archives of Suicide Research Multiple-

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

7.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Archives of Suicide Research, the official journal of the International Academy of Suicide Research (IASR), is the international journal in the field of suicidology. The journal features original, refereed contributions on the study of suicide, suicidal behavior, its causes and effects, and techniques for prevention. The journal incorporates research-based and theoretical articles contributed by a diverse range of authors interested in investigating the biological, pharmacological, psychiatric, psychological, and sociological aspects of suicide.