Leverage Noninvasive Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Reduce Suicidal Behaviors in Vulnerable Adolescents

Study Summary

Suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and suicide are increasingly common in adolescence. Current face-to-face prevention approaches are of limited effectiveness, rely on extensive resources, and are at odds with adolescents' digital preferences. We will evaluate two unconventional but promising interventions delivered to 13- to 17-year-olds: transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation to target emotion dysregulation, and a peer-support smartphone app to combat social isolation. If effective, these digitally-delivered interventions could reach far more adolescents at far lower cost than current approaches.

Primary Outcome

Teens will be assessed at baseline visits for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation (SI), suicide attempts (SA)). They will complete measures individually on the Qualtrics Survey (SIQ) as well as participate in a face-to-face interview with a trained staff member to assess their level of NSSI, SI, and SA (CSSRS, DSHI). All participants will repeat these tasks at all visits (post-treatment, one-year follow-up). We expect teens who have used the

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• DEVICE tVNS Program
• OTHER Phone App Program
• COMBINATION_PRODUCT tVNS and Phone App Program
• OTHER Sham tNVS and Control App

Study Locations (2)