Clinical Research Directory

Real-time Examination of Skills and Coping Use in Teen's Everyday Lives

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two core intervention skills among adolescents with a history of engaging in at least 3 lifetime incidents of self-inflicted injury (SII), at least one of which was a suicide attempt of at least moderate lethality and moderate intent to die. The main questions it aims to answer are: Whether and when youth use skills in daily life, how quickly skill use declines after teaching, and whether exposure to life stress influences skill learning and retention. The Investigators also want to know whether brain-related, family-related, and physiology-related factors influence skills practice and any associated changes in self-harm/suicide risk and emotion dysregulation. Participants will complete surveys 5 times a day on their phones at baseline, and following each skill learning session. All participants will learn and practice the two skills with a parent while discussing topics they often argue about. During these discussions, participants will be hooked up to psychophysiological equipment to measure their cardiovascular functioning and their palm sweat. Participants' discussions will be coded for skill use and also for indices of family functioning. Approximately half of the participants will undergo two sets of fMRI scans to assess potential neural underpinnings of skill use.