Social Cognition and Self Harm in Mental Illness

This is a multi-site, multiple-PI project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health aimed at developing a fuller understanding of how individuals with mental health diagnoses evaluate others and how they view their relationships with others, to determine whether thinking about social others and relationships affects suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

In this study our goal is to identify determinants of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in mental illness in order to identify novel treatment targets, improve current psychosocial remediation strategies, to promote recovery, and to move the field closer towards early identification of risk.

Collaborators

Philip Harvey, PhD, University of Miami
Colin Depp, PhD, University of California, San Diego — Principal Investigator

Study Basics

This study involves 3 lab visits over the course of a year. Visit 1 will take approximately 3 hours, and individuals will be compensated $50. After completing Visit 1, individuals will take home a smart phone to complete short electronic surveys for 10 days. During this 10-day period, individuals can earn up to $50. Once the 10 days are over, individuals come back to the lab to return the phone. 6 months and 12 months after Visit 1, individuals repeat the lab visit and 10-day surveys. Compensation will be the same as before and therefore individuals can earn up to $300 total for the whole study. During the visits, participants will be interviewed about their current and past symptoms, and will be asked to complete several short paper-and-pencil questionnaires and computerized tasks that involve looking at pictures or listening to short phrases and answering questions about them. Approximately 300 adults with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder will be recruited across the three study sites.

If you are interested in volunteering for one of our studies, please fill out our form and provide us with some basic information.