Online self-help for suicidal thoughts: 3-month follow-up results and participant evaluation
Open accessAbstract
As a substantial proportion of people with suicidal thoughts does not receive treatment, the internet can be a utilized to reach more people who need support. To examine maintenance of effects of online self-help for suicidal thoughts at 3-month follow-up within the intervention group of a randomized controlled trial (of which between-group 6-week post-test results have previously been reported, showing a small effect of 0.28 for suicidal thoughts in favour of the intervention group), and to investigate acceptability of the intervention through participant evaluation. 236 adults with mild to moderate suicidal thoughts were randomized to the intervention (n = 116) or a waitlist control group (n = 120). Assessments took place at baseline, post-test (6 weeks later), and follow-up (3 months after post-test). This paper reports on the intervention group and follow-up assessment only. Effects established at 6-week post-test were generally maintained at 3-month follow-up in the intervention group. Participant evaluation revealed that a majority thought their suicidal thoughts had decreased during the study, that adherence to the intervention was below average, and that levels of satisfaction were acceptable. The control group could not serve as a comparator as they had received access to the intervention at post-test. Effects of online self-help for suicidal thoughts can be maintained for up to three months. Participant evaluation indicated that online self-help for suicidal thoughts is acceptable, but there is also room for improvement.
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There is wide evidence that psychological interventions maintain results at follow-ups, such as 3 months for a self-help online intervention for suicidal thoughts, 3-6 months for web-based depression interventions, and 12 months for a self-help intervention for parents of children on cancer treatment.
“there is wide evidence of the effectiveness of psychological interventions in terms of maintaining the results on the follow-ups, such as 3 months for a self-help online intervention for suicidal thoughts (Van Spijker et al., 2015)”
From A Self-Applied Multi-Component Psychological Online Intervention Based on UX, for the Prevention of Complicated Grief Disorder in the Mexican Population During the COVID-19 Outbreak: Protocol of a Randomized Clinical Trial (2021) · cites this paper as Van Spijker et al., 2015
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- Authors
- van Spijker, B. A. J., van Straten, A., & Kerkhof, A. J. F. M.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam Public Health (NL)
- ORCID
- Kerkhof, Ad J.F.M.
- Venue
- Internet Interventions
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-09
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 283-288
- ISSN
- 2214-7829 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2126920288
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 3.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Internet Interventions (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Netherlands Health Research Council (120510003)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
- Keywords
- suicidal ideation, online self-help, online intervention, maintenance of treatment effects, acceptability, participant satisfaction, intervention adherence, waitlist control, suicide prevention
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