A brief digitized contact-based intervention produced small, short-lived improvements in mental health public stigma and formal help-seeking intentions in young adults, but showed potential negative effects on informal help-seeking in those with high mental health distress.
Key Findings
Results
The contact-based intervention produced small improvements in mental health public stigma relative to the active control group, but these effects were not maintained at 1-week follow-up.
Study used a mixed methods design with undergraduate psychology students (N=328)
Measurements were taken before, immediately after, and 1 week following the intervention
The intervention consisted of a brief 8-minute video of a mental health consumer sharing their lived experience of mental health difficulties and recovery
Improvements were described as 'small' in magnitude
Effects on public stigma did not persist at the 1-week follow-up assessment
Results
The intervention improved formal help-seeking intentions relative to control participants, but these improvements were also not maintained at 1-week follow-up.
Improvements in help-seeking intentions were specifically for formal sources of help
The effect was observed immediately post-intervention but not sustained
The study distinguished between formal and informal sources of help-seeking
Sample consisted of N=328 undergraduate psychology students
Results
There was limited evidence that the intervention improved self-stigma or help-seeking intentions using informal sources of help immediately after the intervention.
Self-stigma improvements were 'not evident following the intervention'
Improvements in self-stigma were observed 1 week later, suggesting a delayed effect
Help-seeking intentions for informal sources showed limited improvement relative to control
The pattern of results for self-stigma differed from public stigma outcomes
Results
Participants with high mental distress provided more negative evaluations of the intervention and showed decreased desire to seek help from friends and family following the videos compared to those with low mental health distress.
This was identified through 'additional exploratory analyses'
High-distress participants rated the videos as less helpful and found the speaker less relatable
High-distress participants showed a decrease in informal help-seeking intentions (from friends and family) following the intervention
This finding suggests a potential iatrogenic effect of the intervention for a vulnerable subgroup
The finding implies a need to tailor interventions for young adults with high levels of anxiety or depression
Methods
Qualitative semistructured interviews with a subset of participants provided deeper understanding of young adults' perspectives on the contact-based intervention.
n=12 participants were interviewed in the qualitative component
Interviews were semistructured in format
Participation in interviews was voluntary ('participants were invited to participate')
The qualitative component explored perspectives on the contact-based intervention specifically
Methods
The study used an active control condition to compare against the contact-based intervention across three time points in undergraduate psychology students.
Total sample was N=328 undergraduate psychology students
Design included pre-intervention, immediate post-intervention, and 1-week follow-up assessments
An active control (rather than no-treatment control) was used for comparison
Outcomes measured included mental health public stigma, self-stigma, and help-seeking attitudes
What This Means
This research suggests that showing young adults a short video (about 8 minutes) of someone sharing their personal experience with mental health challenges and recovery can modestly reduce stigma about mental illness and increase willingness to seek professional help. The study involved 328 undergraduate psychology students who were assessed before, immediately after, and one week after watching the video, compared to a group who did not watch it. While the video produced measurable improvements right after viewing, these benefits largely faded within a week, raising questions about how long such brief interventions can sustain meaningful change.
The research also uncovered an important and unexpected finding: young adults who were already experiencing significant mental distress actually responded negatively to the video in some ways. These higher-distress participants found the video less helpful, felt less able to relate to the person sharing their story, and reported being less willing to turn to friends and family for support after watching it. This suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach to mental health stigma reduction videos may not work equally well for everyone, and could even have unintended effects for those who are already struggling.
This research matters because digital, video-based interventions are attractive as low-cost tools that can reach large numbers of young people easily. However, the findings indicate that the design and targeting of such interventions need refinement — particularly to sustain effects over time and to avoid potential harm to those with existing mental health difficulties. The study highlights the importance of tailoring mental health stigma interventions to different groups, especially those who may already be experiencing anxiety or depression.
Songco A, Dahora N, Essen A, Mackinnon A, Sicouri G, Pellicano E, et al.. (2026). Effectiveness of a Brief Digitized Contact-Based Intervention in Improving Mental Health Stigma and Help-Seeking in Young Adults: Mixed Methods Study.. JMIR human factors. https://doi.org/10.2196/74391