Comparing brief video interventions to reduce public and self-stigma: Randomized control trial

Aim

Stigma is a major mental healthcare barrier. This study compares the efficacy of two types of brief video interventions, targeting public and self-stigma, in reducing public stigma towards people living with psychosis. We hypothesized both interventions would similarly reduce public stigma and outperform the control group. As a secondary analysis, we explored the effect of familiarity with a person living with serious mental illness (SMI).

Methods

Participants (N = 1215) aged 18–35 recruited through crowdsourcing were assessed pre- and post-intervention and at 30-day follow-up regarding five public stigma domains: social distance, stereotyping, separateness, social restriction and perceived recovery. Both videos present individual narratives using different approaches: the self-stigma video was created through focus groups, while the public stigma video portrays a single person's journey.

Results

A 3 × 3 analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant group-by-time interaction across all five stigma-related domains (p's < .001). Effect sizes (Cohen's d) ranged from 0.29 to 0.52 (baseline to post-intervention), and 0.18 to 0.45 (baseline to 30-day follow-up). The two video interventions did not significantly differ. Linear mixed modelling showed a significant difference between participants familiar and unfamiliar with people living with SMI for the public stigma video, with greater stigma reductions for unfamiliar participants.

Conclusions

This study corroborates previous findings on the positive influence of social contact-based interventions on youth mental health perceptions. Results provide insights into the relationship between public and self-stigma and the impact that familiarity with SMI may have on the efficacy of stigma reduction efforts further validation in diverse groups is needed.