Recruiting

Flourish

Sponsor:

Candice Biernesser

Code:

NCT07506525

Conditions

Psychological Distress

Suicidal Ideation

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 11 - 21

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Flourish

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study will test Flourish, a digital suicide prevention intervention for cyberbullied youth, within schools.

Specifically, the study aims to:

1. Examine if Flourish is effective and can be feasibly delivered within schools among middle and high school students who are experiencing cyberbullying and suicide risk factors. Feasibility will be evidenced by recruitment and retention rates to the study (> or = 80%) and use of Flourish at least weekly among 80% of youth. Effectiveness will be evidenced by students reporting improvements in psychological distress and suicidal thoughts over the 3-month follow-up period.
2. Understand barriers or facilitators to Flourish's adoption within schools. We will conduct exit interviews and brief surveys with school personnel to inform optimal strategies for implementing Flourish within schools

Conditions

Psychological Distress

Suicidal Ideation

Study ID

NCT07506525

Start date

Mar 14, 2026

Status verified date

Mar, 2026

Completion date

Jan, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Oct, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 11 - 21

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 11-21 years old
  • English-speaking
  • have access to a cell phone or tablet that can send/receive SMS text messages
  • identified as a student who could benefit from the program by a school staff member - OR - screened eligible based on experiencing cyberbullying and suicide risk factors in the past 3 months
  • past 3-month history of cyberbullying assessed by the cybervictimization subscale of the Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization Scale and/or presence of online discrimination as measured by a modified measure from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD study)
  • past 3-month history of suicide risk factors, assessed by: psychological distress (>13 on the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale) and/or suicidal ideation or behavior (via the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • if a student has a condition that might inhibit their ability to effectively engage with Flourish (e.g., intellectual challenges or low literacy levels)
  • if a students' level of acuity would suggest a higher level of care or referral to emergency services
  • if a school staff judges the intervention is not appropriate for the student

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Flourish

Participants will complete an onboarding process, after which they will receive Flourish, a text and web-based program for 4 weeks, accompanied by three brief sessions with a health coach.

Interventions

Flourish

Flourish is a text messaging and web-based program that aims to improve coping following cyberbullying and reduce suicide risk among youth.

Primary outcome measure

  • Recruitment rates of eligible participants [ Time Frame: Assessed upon recruitment to the study ]
  • Retention rates of eligible participants [ Time Frame: Assessed upon completion of the Week 12 study visits ]
  • Level of intervention usage [ Time Frame: Assessed upon completion of the 4-week intervention period ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Candice L Biernesser, PhD

412-586-9064lubbertcl@upmc.edu

Locations

Bay Village School District

Recruiting

Bay Village, Ohio, United States, 44140

Contacts

Megan Basel

440-617-7300megan.basel@bayschoolsohio.org

University of Pittsburgh

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15146

Contacts

Kelly Cassella, Ed.D.

412-373-5235info@newstoryschools.com

More Information

Sponsor

Candice Biernesser

Last update posted

Apr 1, 2026

Last verified

Mar, 2026

Keywords

  • cyberbullying
  • suicide
  • adolescents
  • digital
  • schools
  • social media

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Candice Biernesser on 2026-04-01.