Reducing Self-Dehumanization to Examine the Effects on Oxytocin and Suicide Risk

Florida State University

Summary

The goal of this experiment is to further determine if self-dehumanization is a novel risk factor for suicide. This study will reduce self-dehumanization using a novel re-humanization condition and compare this group to a control group to analyze the pathway between higher perceptions of self-dehumanization, suicidal ideation, and changes in oxytocin concentrations. It is hypothesized that participants randomly assigned to the re-humanized condition will exhibit decreases in suicidal ideation and increases in oxytocin concentrations as compared to the control condition, which will not display significant changes. Further, we will explore if the magnitude of the oxytocin response will partially mediate the change in suicidal ideation.

Description

Purpose: Humans are inherently social beings, and the need for belonging and connection is fundamental. Severe perceptions of social exclusion, non-belonging, and isolation can result in significant psychological harm, including suicide, which claims nearly 50,000 lives annually in the U.S. and affects over 13 million individuals through suicidal ideation (SI). A key predictor of SI, thwarted belongingness, arises from feelings of exclusion and non-belonging, yet more specificity is needed to identify the types of non-belonging that contribute most to suicide risk. Self-dehumanization-a percep…

Eligibility

Age range: 18–40 years
Sex: All
Healthy volunteers: Yes

Detailed criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Between the ages of 18 and 40 * Biological females will be screened to ensure that they have a regular menstrual cycle with a length of 26-30 days and will be scheduled according to their cycle (see Research Strategy for details). * At least a moderate level of self-dehumanization (i.e., a sum score of 12 or greater out of a possible score of 28) and current suicidal ideation Exclusion Criteria: * Participation in the Self-Dehumanized Study by this study team * A phobia of needles (i.e., trypanophobia) * Any medical conditions precluding them from engaging in a 10-hour…

Interventions

Other
Rehumanized Intervention
Participants will: 1\. be provided with a lay summary of an ostensible research article that used quantitative and qualitative data to capture the experiences of feeling "less than human" and mechanisms for reclaiming human identity. The summary will reveal general themes of humanness based on participant responses including body and soul awareness, agency, connection, and creativity. 1. write a 30-minute reflective essay on "how did the rehumanization efforts described in the survey make people feel more human?" where they will be encouraged to use examples from their own lives 2. asked to create videos based on the insights shared in the essays. The researchers will explain, "We would like to record you reading your essay on camera. We believe it would be especially impactful for clinicians developing these interventions to hear directly from someone who has recently navigated similar experiences."
Other
Control Intervention
Participants will: 1\. be provided with a lay summary of an ostensible research article that used quantitative and qualitative data to capture the experiences of political attitudes and routes to political sophistication. The summary will reveal general themes of political sophistication based on participant responses including gathering information through diverse news outlets, analyzing policy and legislation, and participation in civic engagement 1. write a 30-minute reflective essay on ""how did the political efforts described in the survey refine political attitudes?" where they will be encouraged to use examples from their own lives 2. asked to create videos based on the insights shared in the essays. The researchers will explain, "We plan to take excerpts of what you write here and share it with future voters to aid in developing political attitudes."
Diagnostic Test
Clinical Interview
Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview-Short Form (SITBI-SF). Participants will complete an in-person interview featuring 72-items about their history of self-injury and suicidal behaviors. This interview includes 6 yes/no style questions about suicidal thoughts, suicidal plans, suicidal gestures, suicidal attempts, nonsuicidal self-injury thoughts, and nonsuicidal self-injury. Each category that is endorsed, across the lifetime, has follow up questions surrounding times, duration, intensity, severity, type, and if medical attention was sought. This interview has sound psychometric properties.
Other
Self-Report Measures
Depressive Symptom Index - Suicidality Subscale (DSI-SS). Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ). Self-Dehumanization Scale (SDS).
Other
Blood Draw
Five milliliters of blood will be drawn before and after study interventions for the quantification of plasma oxytocin concentrations by certified phlebotomists. Samples will be collected into chilled EDTA tubes, inverted ten times to mix with anticoagulants, and centrifuged at 1600g for 15 minutes at 4˚C. Cleared plasma will be aliquoted into cryotubes and stored at -80˚C. Consistent with expert recommendations, oxytocin levels will be obtained from the samples diluted 1:4 (i.e., oxytocin can be discarded through plasma proteins when incorporating an extraction step before conducting the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay \[ELISA\]). Second, to buffer against contrasting concerns, an aliquot of each sample will be analyzed for test-retest purposes. Oxytocin concentrations will be measured using a validated commercially available and sensitive ELISA neurophysin kit (Abcam).

Location

Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
joiner@psy.fsu.edu 850-644-2040

Summary

Description

Eligibility

Age range

18–40 years

Sex

All

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Detailed criteria

Interventions

Other

Rehumanized Intervention

Participants will: 1\. be provided with a lay summary of an ostensible research article that used quantitative and qualitative data to capture the experiences of feeling "less than human" and mechanisms for reclaiming human identity. The summary will reveal general themes of humanness based on participant responses including body and soul awareness, agency, connection, and creativity. 1. write a 30-minute reflective essay on "how did the rehumanization efforts described in the survey make people feel more human?" where they will be encouraged to use examples from their own lives 2. asked to create videos based on the insights shared in the essays. The researchers will explain, "We would like to record you reading your essay on camera. We believe it would be especially impactful for clinicians developing these interventions to hear directly from someone who has recently navigated similar experiences."

Other

Control Intervention

Participants will: 1\. be provided with a lay summary of an ostensible research article that used quantitative and qualitative data to capture the experiences of political attitudes and routes to political sophistication. The summary will reveal general themes of political sophistication based on participant responses including gathering information through diverse news outlets, analyzing policy and legislation, and participation in civic engagement 1. write a 30-minute reflective essay on ""how did the political efforts described in the survey refine political attitudes?" where they will be encouraged to use examples from their own lives 2. asked to create videos based on the insights shared in the essays. The researchers will explain, "We plan to take excerpts of what you write here and share it with future voters to aid in developing political attitudes."

Diagnostic Test

Clinical Interview

Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview-Short Form (SITBI-SF). Participants will complete an in-person interview featuring 72-items about their history of self-injury and suicidal behaviors. This interview includes 6 yes/no style questions about suicidal thoughts, suicidal plans, suicidal gestures, suicidal attempts, nonsuicidal self-injury thoughts, and nonsuicidal self-injury. Each category that is endorsed, across the lifetime, has follow up questions surrounding times, duration, intensity, severity, type, and if medical attention was sought. This interview has sound psychometric properties.

Other

Self-Report Measures

Depressive Symptom Index - Suicidality Subscale (DSI-SS). Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ). Self-Dehumanization Scale (SDS).

Other

Blood Draw

Five milliliters of blood will be drawn before and after study interventions for the quantification of plasma oxytocin concentrations by certified phlebotomists. Samples will be collected into chilled EDTA tubes, inverted ten times to mix with anticoagulants, and centrifuged at 1600g for 15 minutes at 4˚C. Cleared plasma will be aliquoted into cryotubes and stored at -80˚C. Consistent with expert recommendations, oxytocin levels will be obtained from the samples diluted 1:4 (i.e., oxytocin can be discarded through plasma proteins when incorporating an extraction step before conducting the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay \[ELISA\]). Second, to buffer against contrasting concerns, an aliquot of each sample will be analyzed for test-retest purposes. Oxytocin concentrations will be measured using a validated commercially available and sensitive ELISA neurophysin kit (Abcam).