GETActivE

The GETActivE study is being conducted by Dr. Jamie Zelazny.

Adolescent suicide is a growing epidemic in recent years, but the suicide rate for Black and Hispanic teens is increasing at a faster rate than for white teens. Additionally, anhedonia, a symptom of depression characterized by a lack of pleasure or interest in doing valued activities, has been implicated as a risk factor in suicidal behavior. Knowing this, there is a need for culturally-specific interventions tackling anhedonia and suicidal behavior.

GETActivE aims to develop a mobile intervention that will use a treatment technique called Behavioral Activation. Behavioral Activation is specifically utilized to treat anhedonia by decreasing avoidance and isolation behaviors and increasing engagement in enjoyable activities using positive reinforcement. The mobile intervention will incorporate health data collected by mobile phones and share it with health coaches and clinicians to offer feedback to adolescents enrolled in the intervention.

First, qualitative interviews with stakeholders (racially diverse adolescents, caregivers, providers, and administrators) will inform the intervention. Then, the feedback will be implemented to fine tune the intervention to the specific needs of those who will interact with it.

Finally, a pilot trial will recruit 75 adolescents from ages 12-18 (35% Black, 10% Hispanic) experiencing depressive symptoms including anhedonia and half of which experiencing suicidality. The results will inform the intervention further toward the goal of reducing adolescent suicide, specifically in racially and ethnically diverse youth.