How teens' responses to social threat relate to relationships and suicidal thoughts
Neurocognitive Responses to Social Threat: Links to Day-to-day Connectedness and Suicidality in Adolescent Girls
This study tests whether how girls assigned female at birth ages 12–17 pay attention to social threats relates to their daily relationships and suicidal thoughts or self-harm.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 100 (estimated) |
| Ages | 12 Years to 17 Years |
| Sex | Female |
| Sponsor | University of Pittsburgh Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) |
| Trial ID | NCT07294079 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
Researchers will enroll 100 adolescents assigned female at birth, ages 12–17, who have had recent suicidal thoughts, behaviors, or non-suicidal self-injury. Participants complete a baseline clinical interview, a lab visit with EEG while doing a face-memory task that presents angry, sad, happy, and neutral expressions, and daily smartphone surveys plus passive data collection over several weeks. Follow-up questionnaires at 3 and 6 months will track changes in suicidal thoughts and social connectedness to link brain responses to real-world social experience. Text message donation is requested to augment the passive social data.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Adolescents assigned female at birth aged 12–17 who have had recurrent suicidal thoughts, suicide-related behaviors, or non-suicidal self-injury in the past year, are medically and neurologically healthy, can read English, and own an iPhone are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Teens who are male or outside the 12–17 age range, have current psychotic disorder, severe substance use disorder, autism spectrum disorder, serious neurological or medical conditions, uncorrected visual impairment, or who do not own an iPhone are not eligible and unlikely to benefit from this protocol.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify brain and behavior markers that predict which teens are at higher risk, informing earlier, more targeted prevention and support.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research using EEG/ERP and smartphone-based daily surveys has shown promise linking neural responses to social stimuli with real-world emotional states, but applying these methods specifically to predicting adolescent suicidality is still an emerging area.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Between ages 12-17 * Reported recurrent suicidal thoughts and behaviors and/or non-suicidal self-injury within the past year. * Medically and neurologically healthy, including no evidence of intellectual disability or serious cognitive impairment that would interfere with task performance * Assigned female at birth * Willing and able to give informed assent * Own an iPhone Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to read or speak English or cognitive impairment preventing ability to complete assessments * Lifetime presence of a neurological or serious medical condition * Lifetime presence of a DSM-5 Autistic Spectrum Disorder * Current DSM-5 Psychotic Disorder or severe Substance Use Disorder * Uncorrected visual disturbance (\<20/40 Snellen visual acuity) * Presence of head injury or congenital neurological anomalies (based on parent report).
Where this trial is running
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Kiera M James, PhD — University of Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Kiera M James, Ph.D.
- Email: kij9@pitt.edu
- Phone: 412-634-0004
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.