Testing a Brief Self-Rehumanization Intervention: Effects on Self-Dehumanization, Oxytocin, and Suicide Risk - PROJECT SUMMARY Suicide remains a leading cause of death in the United States, highlighting the urgent need for novel interventions.2 One promising but underexamined clinical target is self-dehumanization—the internalized belief that one is less than fully human. Though rooted in social psychology, recent clinical evidence shows that self- dehumanization is significantly associated with suicidal ideation (SI), even after accounting for established risk factors such as thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness.3,4 The applicant’s prior work has contributed to the discovery of self-dehumanization as a potential contributory risk factor through developing and validating the Self-Dehumanization Scale and establishing preliminary links with SI, the neuropeptide oxytocin, and a model of their interrelatedness (i.e., that oxytocin may partially mediate the relationship between self-dehumanization and SI). Although adjacent research has developed effective interventions—such as other-rehumanization remedies and programs targeting social disconnection5–7—no experimental studies, to our knowledge, have directly sought to reduce self-dehumanization. As preliminary data suggest self- dehumanization is both malleable and clinically relevant; targeting it directly may yield meaningful reductions in suicide risk. Thus, building on the applicant’s foundational work, this proposal aims to test a novel self- rehumanization intervention as a promising approach to reducing suicide-related risk. The intervention will be a brief, digital remedy designed to counteract self-dehumanizing beliefs and strengthen perceptions of shared humanity. Guided by the Discover, Design, Build, and Test (DDBT) framework—a human-centered approach in treatment development1—the project will work towards an intervention that is developed with both implementation and client outcomes in mind. Aim 1 will evaluate the proposed intervention’s usability and acceptability through iterative pilot testing with target users. Aim 2 will test intervention efficacy via a randomized clinical trial (RCT), comparing a single-session intervention to a control condition. The primary outcomes of interest will include changes in self-dehumanization and suicide-related risk factors (e.g., thwarted belongingness). Aim 3 will explore potential mechanisms and moderators of treatment effects (e.g., oxytocin concentrations, baseline risk factors), providing explanatory insight regardless of efficacy. Each aim of this proposal will provide the PI with critical training in: (1) human-centered implementation science with real-world application; (2) the development and execution of randomized clinical trials (RCTs); (3) Identification of treatment mechanisms and moderators, with a focus on oxytocin and suicide risk factors; and (4) targeted professional development to enhance research productivity, neurobiological expertise, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Overall, this project will uniquely position the PI for a research career in suicide prevention research and position her for future NIH funding, including early-career awards such as the R61 or R33.
