Stigma, Beliefs & Demand for Mental Health Services Among University Students

Last registered on November 15, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Stigma, Beliefs & Demand for Mental Health Services Among University Students
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014804
Initial registration date
November 12, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 15, 2024, 1:48 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Mexico
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Alisher Batmanov
Affiliation
UC San Diego
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Idaliya Grigoryeva
PI Affiliation
UC San Diego
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Alejandro Guardiola Ramirez
PI Affiliation
Tec Monterrey
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-11-12
End date
2025-01-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Health
Additional Keywords
stigma, beliefs, mental health, university students, therapy
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Despite high rates of mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety and the availability of effective treatment options, most university students do not seek professional help. This project examines the factors that shape the demand for mental health services among students, as well as the barriers that prevent them from seeking support. We conduct a representative survey at a large university in Mexico to establish baseline information on student mental health. Preliminary results indicate that nearly one-third of students report moderate or severe symptoms of depression and anxiety, yet most do not seek or receive adequate support, with only 40% of students in distress accessing professional help. Additionally, while students tend to believe that poor mental health correlates with lower grades, our data shows no evidence to support this. Our findings aim to inform interventions to reduce the mental health treatment gap in the university student population.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Batmanov, Alisher, Idaliya Grigoryeva and Alejandro Guardiola Ramirez. 2024. "Stigma, Beliefs & Demand for Mental Health Services Among University Students." AEA RCT Registry. November 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14804-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The study is an online survey with university students in Mexico as participants. The bulk of the survey consists of questions to elicit respondents’ mental health state (using PHQ and GAD screeners), experience with using therapy, experience with student services, and demographic information. Experimental variation comes from a random assignment of participants to one of the three treatment conditions. In the first arm, participants are exposed to mental health information in the form of an infographic. In addition, they complete a reflection activity with an open-ended question and a vignette component. In the second arm, participants are exposed to the information component only. In the third arm (control arm), participants are exposed to a more neutral set of questions about general campus services focused on mental health.
Intervention Start Date
2024-11-12
Intervention End Date
2025-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
(1) Willingness to pay (WTP) for a 4-week therapy service subscription for self (if the response is $0, we ask a hypothetical question about willingness to accept, WTA)
(2) Willingness to pay (WTP) for a 4-week therapy service subscription for a friend (subjects are asked to leave the contact details of their friend)
(3) Donation to help cover the cost of a therapy session for another student
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Ranking question: subjects rank several types of (hypothetical) students in terms of how comfortable they would feel working with them on a project
Info link sharing: subjects are given a link to the university’s counseling website that they can share with their friends; we will track the number of clicks on this link (3 distinct links generated for 3 treatment groups)
Advice: subjects are asked a hypothetical question about how they would support their friend who is struggling with personal issues
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We use a between-subject design and randomly split student respondents into three groups: (1) Information+Reflection: subjects are exposed to a mental health information component and reflection component; (2) Information: subjects are exposed to a mental health information component only; (3) Control: subjects are exposed to questions unrelated to mental health.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is implemented through Qualtrics randomizer tool.
Randomization Unit
Individual level randomization (unit = university student)
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
500-1000 students
Sample size: planned number of observations
500-1000 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
165-333 students per treatment (equal split between three groups)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UC San Diego IRB
IRB Approval Date
2023-09-01
IRB Approval Number
808688
IRB Name
Tec Monterrey IRB
IRB Approval Date
2024-10-22
IRB Approval Number
P000882
Analysis Plan