Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2021 Apr;51(2):274-288. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12703.
To test the effectiveness of a male-targeted upstream public health intervention in increasing help-seeking intentions for mental disorders and suicide in an adolescent population.
A two-arm controlled trial was conducted with 10 schools in the Australian Capital Territory. A total of 594 male adolescents aged between 16 and 18 years participated in the study. Participants in the intervention condition received the single session Silence is Deadly program, while participants in the control condition completed usual classes. All participants completed a pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a 6- to 12-week follow-up survey assessing help-seeking intentions, attitudes, and behaviors.
At follow-up, the Silence is Deadly program was found to significantly increase help-seeking intentions from friends, which was in line with the program's messaging to seek help from and provide support to friends in times of distress or suicide risk. The program did not have an effect on help-seeking intentions for other sources of help or on help-seeking attitudes and behavior.
The present study provides preliminary support for male-targeted public health interventions for suicide that use male-focused norming and role modeling to improve help-seeking in this population.
测试一项针对男性的上游公共卫生干预措施在增加青少年人群对精神障碍和自杀的求治意愿方面的有效性。
在澳大利亚首都直辖区的 10 所学校进行了一项双臂对照试验。共有 594 名年龄在 16 至 18 岁之间的男性青少年参与了这项研究。干预组的参与者接受了一次性的“沉默即死亡”课程，而对照组的参与者则完成了常规课程。所有参与者都在干预前、干预后和 6 至 12 周的随访调查中完成了评估求治意愿、态度和行为的问卷。
随访时，“沉默即死亡”课程显著增加了参与者向朋友求治的意愿，这符合课程的信息传递，即当朋友处于困境或有自杀风险时，向朋友寻求帮助并给予支持。该课程对其他求治来源的求治意愿、求治态度和行为没有影响。
本研究初步支持了针对男性的公共卫生干预措施，该措施利用男性关注的规范和角色塑造来改善这一人群的求治意愿。
