Thursday, October 16, 2025 10/16/2025

Understanding Bystanders for Self-Directed Violence Prevention: A Prospective National Study Highlighting Marginalized Youth and Young Adults

Award Number: R01MH128269
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/13/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

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Understanding Bystanders for Self-Directed Violence Prevention: A Prospective National Study Highlighting Marginalized Youth and Young Adults - Self-directed violence (SDV), defined as anything a person does intentionally that can cause injury to one’s self, including death (i.e., suicide attempt, suicide ideation, non-suicidal self-injury), is a significant public health issue. A growing number of SDV prevention programs train adults and peers (termed “gatekeeper training”) to be more active bystanders– to try to help when they see someone who may be at risk for self-injury. Such programs have demonstrated positive changes in knowledge and attitudes about suicide but have had less success in changing behaviors in real world settings. Limited impact may be due to the absence of longitudinal research on how SDV bystander actions unfold and what attitudes and barriers influence bystanders’ behavior. A recent national survey of 1,031 youth and young adults conducted by this research team to inform the current proposal revealed that 83.1% have been exposed to SDV in their lifetimes. While this suggests great opportunity for interventions focused on bystanders, studies also document the mental health impact of those exposed to SDV (i.e., “bystanders”). Indeed, lifetime exposure to suicidal behavior is associated with past month trauma symptoms, suicide ideation, and thoughts of self-harm among youth. Also, we have surprisingly limited information about how these bystanders are impacted by the help they provide. In the interpersonal violence field, research suggests that the feelings of bystanders about their intervention are influenced by the way their actions were received by the other person. Given research on the contagion of SDV among young people, extending this research to SDV bystanders is critical. Further, exposure to SDV may be amplifying existing mental health disparities experienced by different youth populations. Some youth with different social identities experience elevated rates of suicidal behavior and associated risk factors including depression, substance use, and peer victimization because of discrimination and structural inequalities. The negative impacts of SDV exposure noted above may amplify these disparities. New and innovative approaches are clearly needed to help narrow these gaps in SDV risk and exposures among higher risk populations. To address these gaps, we propose to conduct a national longitudinal study of youth, ages 13-22. Participants will be recruited via social media to facilitate a national reach and oversampling of youth from communities that have been less involved in prevention research and that have demonstrated higher risk for SDV. Specific Aims are informed by the research team’s prior work, previous research about interpersonal violence bystander behavior, and guided by the Enhanced Social Cognitive Model for SDV (ESC-SDV). We will: 1) Recruit and survey a cohort of 5,000 adolescents and young adults to identify the pathways through which attitudinal and contextual components of the ESC-SDV predict: a) opportunity to act, b) intent to act, and c) actual bystander behavior for SDV; 2) Survey these youth two more times to identify the impact of bystander behavior on the bystanders themselves; and 3) Examine how these trends are different for important subgroups of youth.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $751,541 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	51 COLLEGE RD	DURHAM	NH	03824	STRAFFORD	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	5	9/17/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$751,541
														Subtotal = $751,541

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $982,707 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	51 COLLEGE RD	DURHAM	NH	03824	STRAFFORD	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	5/31/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$629,332
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	51 COLLEGE RD	DURHAM	NH	03824	STRAFFORD	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	7/22/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$353,375
														Subtotal = $982,707

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $610,536 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	51 COLLEGE RD SERVICE BLDG 107	DURHAM	NH	03824	STRAFFORD	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	5/22/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$610,536
														Subtotal = $610,536

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $542,001 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	51 COLLEGE RD SERVICE BLDG 107	DURHAM	NH	03824	STRAFFORD	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	2	6/17/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$524,674
2022	2021	UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	51 COLLEGE RD SERVICE BLDG 107	DURHAM	NH	03824	STRAFFORD	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	12/2/2021	NEW	$17,327
														Subtotal = $542,001

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $649,712 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	51 COLLEGE RD SERVICE BLDG 107	DURHAM	NH	03824	STRAFFORD	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	9/9/2021	NEW	$649,712
														Subtotal = $649,712

Grand Total All Awards = $3,536,497

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Understanding Bystanders for Self-Directed Violence Prevention: A Prospective National Study Highlighting Marginalized Youth and Young Adults

Award Number: R01MH128269

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/13/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

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