Developing Brief Screener for Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

This study explores characteristics of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among young adults who visit Mental Health America to take an online mental health screener. We then conduct initial exploratory and confirmatory psychometric analysis on the brief severity assessment. To validate this assessment, we enroll participants with and without a history of NSSI. The final assessment will be used in ongoing research efforts to design digital intervention tools for people who engage in NSSI.

Total study duration is expected to be weeks. Those enrolled will:

• Engage in one 60-minute phone interview with research staff.
• Complete two online questionnaires, one at baseline and one a month later.

Participants may be compensated up to $85 via an Amazon gift card for completing each of the following:

• Phone call ($25)
• First questionnaire ($30)
• Second questionnaire ($30)

This study is for U.S. citizens or residents ages 18 to 24. (Participants residing in Nebraska must be at least 19 years old.)

Note: We are enrolling two groups of participants.

• Group 1 participants must report current NSSI (2 or more times in past month).
• Group 2 participants will be enrolled based on their level of depressive symptoms (4 subgroups will be enrolled with an equal proportion of participants reporting no to mild symptoms, moderate symptoms, moderate-severe symptoms and severe symptoms).

Recruitment will be rolled out in waves to ensure a diverse sample of participants.

Complete a brief consent and online screener to find out if you are eligible.

For any immediate questions or concerns, please contact the study team: 

Principal Investigator: Kaylee Kruzan, PhD
Email: kaylee.kruzan@northwestern.edu
Phone: 810-241-0488

This study has been approved by the Northwestern University IRB # STU00217102