Depressive DisorderNCT07100548
A Qualitative Analysis of Youth Responses to Depression Education Delivered on Social Media
An observational study of Depressive Disorder and Depression - Major Depressive Disorder, run by Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich at 1 site in Germany.
Trial summary
Depression is a common mental disorder among adolescents, with increased rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its high burden, few young people seek professional help due to, among other things, low mental health literacy and fear of stigma. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 13 to 18 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Depressive Disorder, Depression - Major Depressive Disorder, Depression in Adolescence
- What is being tested?
- "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything")
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 18 participants
- Where
- 1 siteGermany
- Study dates
- 1 Jun 2025to 8 Aug 2025
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 13 to 18 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult
Study population: 10-20 healthy adolescents and adolescents with current or remitted depression aged 13-18 years The study population will also be further described using the following questionnaires: 1. Depression Literacy - Assessed with an adapted version of the German version of the Adolescent Depression Knowledge Questionnaire and the Depression Literacy Scale German (Time Frame: Start of appointment, before the Thinking Aloud Protocol) 2. Stigma - Assessed with the German version of the Self Stigma of Depression Scale and an adapted Version of the Peer mental health stigmatization scale (Time Frame: Start of appointment, before the Thinking Aloud Protocol) 3. Mental Health - Assessed with the Depression Screener for Teenagers and the Perceived Stress Scale (Time Frame: Start of appointment, before the Thinking Aloud Protocol)
Who may be able to join
- Ownership of an Instagram account
- Regular use of Instagram
- in group of adolescents with a current or remitted depression: ICD-10 diagnoses F32.0; F32.1; F32.2, F33.0, F33.1, F.33.2 based on "Diagnostisches Interview bei psychischen Störungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter (Diagnostic Interview for Mental Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence)"
Who cannot join
- Insufficient knowledge of German
- Following the "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") social media channels before participating in the study
- Knowing the "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") website before participating in the study
- in group of healthy adolescents: no ICD-10 diagnoses based on "Diagnostisches Interview bei psychischen Störungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter (Diagnostic Interview for Mental Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence)"
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Germany1 site
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich
Munich, Bavaria, 80336
About this study
Official title: Mental Health in the Digital Age: A Qualitative Study of Youth Responses to Depression Education Delivered on Social Media
Depression is a common mental disorder among adolescents, with increased rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its high burden, few young people seek professional help due to, among other things, low mental health literacy and fear of stigma. Since most adolescents often seek health information online and use social media daily, the "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; www.ich-bin-alles.de) project was launched to provide accessible, age-appropriate information about depression via a website and social media channels (e.g., Instagram). This study aims to understand how participants perceive and evaluate the social media channel "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/).
Read the detailed description
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders worldwide, with a prevalence of approx. 7.5% in youth. In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, a meta-analysis found an increase in clinically relevant depressive symptoms to 25.2% in children and adolescents. At the same time, adolescents who experience mental health crises are reluctant to seek help and only 12% of adolescents with clinically relevant depressive symptoms seek professional treatment. The main barriers for young people to seek professional help include low knowledge of mental disorders/low mental health literacy and social factors such as the fear of stigmatization. Mental health literacy (MHL) is defined as "knowledge of how to prevent mental disorders, recognition of when a disorder is developing, knowledge of help-seeking options and treatment available, knowledge of effective self-help strategies for milder problems, and first aid skills to support others who are affected by mental health problems". It has been found that increased depression literacy can reduce depressive symptoms in adults and improve help-seeking for depression. Stigma in the context of mental health is a multidimensional concept that encompasses several domains. For many people living with mental illness, stigma is a significant contributor to a wide range of negative outcomes, including delayed help-seeking, hopelessness, diminished self-esteem, reduced quality of life and poorer clinical outcomes. Many of these negative effects have also been found in young people with mental health problems. Therefore, improving MHL and reducing the stigmatization of mental illness are two important starting points that can serve as targets for interventions. Improved MHL goes hand in hand with better knowledge about seeking help and less stigmatization of mental illness.
The vast majority of adolescents in western countries, such as the United States and Germany, have access to digital devices, such as smartphones. 97% of young people in the United States (13-17 years) state that they use social media and 45% say that they are online almost all the time. Along with this, young people are more likely to ask health questions, including mental health questions, online than through other channels. However, to date, few digital psychoeducational interventions for depression in adolescents have been developed and evaluated. In order to meet this need for action in a contemporary manner that attracts youth, the web-based project "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; www.ich-bin-alles.de) was launched in September 2021 with an associated social media presence. The "ich bin alles" project provides comprehensive evidence-based and age-appropriate information on depression and mental health in youth via social media (such as Instagram). This strategy of providing information via social media is to be scientifically evaluated in this study.
The aim of this qualitative study is to evaluate the spontaneous thoughts and feelings that young people express while viewing "ich bin alles" Instagram content and to understand how the participants perceive and evaluate it. This will be investigated using the "Thinking Aloud Protocol"- method in 10-20 healthy adolescents and adolescents with current or remitted depression aged 13-18 years. The results of the study can help to gain insight into the perception and acceptance of the content.
- Being tested
- "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything")
- Keywords
- depression, prevention, social media, adolescents, depression literacy, stigma, help-seeking, psychoeducation
- Medical subject headings
- Depressive Disorder, Depression, Social Stigma
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
"ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything")Behavioural
The web-based information platform "ich bin alles" (www.ich-bin-alles.de) on depression and mental health in youth as well as its social media channels were developed by the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich Hospital together with the Prof. Otto Beisheim Foundation. It is aimed at youth with depression, healthy youth, and their parents. The project focuses on education, prevention, low-threshold support, and destigmatisation through the transfer of evidence-based knowledge and hands-on supportive materials. Information material on Instagram is posted four times a week in the form of a post, a longer explanatory video and two reels (i.e., short videos with overlays of text and music; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/). All content is evidence-based information created by the research team and is primarily based on the "ich bin alles" page.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| healthy adolescents aged 13-18 years and adolescents aged 13-18 with current or remitted depression | The aim is to use a qualitative study design to investigate the spontaneous thoughts and feelings that young people express while viewing "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/) Instagram content.
Purposive sampling is to be used for the study. In the case of this study, the targeted case selection refers to the age range (13-18 years) to be covered so that the study population contains participants from the entire age spectrum. In addition, the depression status (current or remitted depression or healthy) should be taken into account. Receives: Behavioral: "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
spontaneous thoughts and feelings
spontaneous thoughts and feelings that young people express while viewing "ich bin alles" Instagram content (English: "I am everything"; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/)
Measured: during the 30 minutes in which the young people watch "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") content
Secondary outcomes (1)
Acceptance
questions (in form of a Semi-Structured Interview) designed by the investigators based on "the theoretical framework of acceptability"
Measured: Day 1 (after the Thinking Aloud Protocol)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 Aug 2025
- Study start1 Jun 2025
- Primary completion8 Aug 2025
- Study completion8 Aug 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Depressive DisorderStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Case only
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 18 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Prof. Otto Beisheim Foundation
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Ellen Greimel, Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich
- Investigators
- Gerd Schulte-Körne, Prof. Dr., Principal investigator, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07100548
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 25-0088
- Status last verified
- Nov 2025
- First submitted
- 24 Jul 2025
- Last updated
- 4 Dec 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Consider briefly explaining why IPD will not or might not be shared. The data collected in this study include sensitive details about participants, such as various sociodemographic characteristics and information about mental health status. Publicly sharing the raw dataset could risk revealing individual identities, thereby violating ethical standards related to participant confidentiality. As a result, the raw data will not be publicly released. However, detailed descriptions of the methodology, materials used, and sample characteristics will be provided within the article and supplementary materials. The intervention is also publicly accessible in German on the "ich bin alles" - Instagram channel. Aggregated data and additional supporting materials may be shared upon request (contact: sara.kaubisch@med.uni-muenchen.de).
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 4 Dec 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Mental Health in the Digital Age: A Qualitative Study of Youth Responses to Depression Education Delivered on Social Media
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07100548
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 25-0088
- Keywords
- depression, prevention, social media, adolescents, depression literacy, stigma, help-seeking, psychoeducation
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 18 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Ludwig-Maximilians - University of MunichUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Prof. Otto Beisheim Foundation
- Study start
- 1 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 8 Aug 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 8 Aug 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 3 Aug 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Depression is a common mental disorder among adolescents, with increased rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its high burden, few young people seek professional help due to, among other things, low mental health literacy and fear of stigma. Since most adolescents often seek health information online and use social media daily, the "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; www.ich-bin-alles.de) project was launched to provide accessible, age-appropriate information about depression via a website and social media channels (e.g., Instagram). This study aims to understand how participants perceive and evaluate the social media channel "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/).
Detailed description
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders worldwide, with a prevalence of approx. 7.5% in youth. In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, a meta-analysis found an increase in clinically relevant depressive symptoms to 25.2% in children and adolescents. At the same time, adolescents who experience mental health crises are reluctant to seek help and only 12% of adolescents with clinically relevant depressive symptoms seek professional treatment. The main barriers for young people to seek professional help include low knowledge of mental disorders/low mental health literacy and social factors such as the fear of stigmatization. Mental health literacy (MHL) is defined as "knowledge of how to prevent mental disorders, recognition of when a disorder is developing, knowledge of help-seeking options and treatment available, knowledge of effective self-help strategies for milder problems, and first aid skills to support others who are affected by mental health problems". It has been found that increased depression literacy can reduce depressive symptoms in adults and improve help-seeking for depression. Stigma in the context of mental health is a multidimensional concept that encompasses several domains. For many people living with mental illness, stigma is a significant contributor to a wide range of negative outcomes, including delayed help-seeking, hopelessness, diminished self-esteem, reduced quality of life and poorer clinical outcomes. Many of these negative effects have also been found in young people with mental health problems. Therefore, improving MHL and reducing the stigmatization of mental illness are two important starting points that can serve as targets for interventions. Improved MHL goes hand in hand with better knowledge about seeking help and less stigmatization of mental illness.
The vast majority of adolescents in western countries, such as the United States and Germany, have access to digital devices, such as smartphones. 97% of young people in the United States (13-17 years) state that they use social media and 45% say that they are online almost all the time. Along with this, young people are more likely to ask health questions, including mental health questions, online than through other channels. However, to date, few digital psychoeducational interventions for depression in adolescents have been developed and evaluated. In order to meet this need for action in a contemporary manner that attracts youth, the web-based project "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; www.ich-bin-alles.de) was launched in September 2021 with an associated social media presence. The "ich bin alles" project provides comprehensive evidence-based and age-appropriate information on depression and mental health in youth via social media (such as Instagram). This strategy of providing information via social media is to be scientifically evaluated in this study.
The aim of this qualitative study is to evaluate the spontaneous thoughts and feelings that young people express while viewing "ich bin alles" Instagram content and to understand how the participants perceive and evaluate it. This will be investigated using the "Thinking Aloud Protocol"- method in 10-20 healthy adolescents and adolescents with current or remitted depression aged 13-18 years. The results of the study can help to gain insight into the perception and acceptance of the content.
Study design
- Observational model
- Case only
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| healthy adolescents aged 13-18 years and adolescents aged 13-18 with current or remitted depression | – | Behavioral: "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything")The aim is to use a qualitative study design to investigate the spontaneous thoughts and feelings that young people express while viewing "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything"; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/) Instagram content. Purposive sampling is to be used for the study. In the case of this study, the targeted case selection refers to the age range (13-18 years) to be covered so that the study population contains participants from the entire age spectrum. In addition, the depression status (current or remitted depression or healthy) should be taken into account. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 13 to 18 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult
- Study population
- 10-20 healthy adolescents and adolescents with current or remitted depression aged 13-18 years The study population will also be further described using the following questionnaires: 1. Depression Literacy - Assessed with an adapted version of the German version of the Adolescent Depression Knowledge Questionnaire and the Depression Literacy Scale German (Time Frame: Start of appointment, before the Thinking Aloud Protocol) 2. Stigma - Assessed with the German version of the Self Stigma of Depression Scale and an adapted Version of the Peer mental health stigmatization scale (Time Frame: Start of appointment, before the Thinking Aloud Protocol) 3. Mental Health - Assessed with the Depression Screener for Teenagers and the Perceived Stress Scale (Time Frame: Start of appointment, before the Thinking Aloud Protocol)
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Ownership of an Instagram account
- Regular use of Instagram
- in group of adolescents with a current or remitted depression: ICD-10 diagnoses F32.0; F32.1; F32.2, F33.0, F33.1, F.33.2 based on "Diagnostisches Interview bei psychischen Störungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter (Diagnostic Interview for Mental Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence)"
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Insufficient knowledge of German
- Following the "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") social media channels before participating in the study
- Knowing the "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") website before participating in the study
- in group of healthy adolescents: no ICD-10 diagnoses based on "Diagnostisches Interview bei psychischen Störungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter (Diagnostic Interview for Mental Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence)"
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything")The web-based information platform "ich bin alles" (www.ich-bin-alles.de) on depression and mental health in youth as well as its social media channels were developed by the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich Hospital together with the Prof. Otto Beisheim Foundation. It is aimed at youth with depression, healthy youth, and their parents. The project focuses on education, prevention, low-threshold support, and destigmatisation through the transfer of evidence-based knowledge and hands-on supportive materials. Information material on Instagram is posted four times a week in the form of a post, a longer explanatory video and two reels (i.e., short videos with overlays of text and music; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/). All content is evidence-based information created by the research team and is primarily based on the "ich bin alles" page. | Behavioural | healthy adolescents aged 13-18 years and adolescents aged 13-18 with current or remitted depression |
Primary outcome
spontaneous thoughts and feelings
Time frame: during the 30 minutes in which the young people watch "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") content
spontaneous thoughts and feelings that young people express while viewing "ich bin alles" Instagram content (English: "I am everything"; https://www.instagram.com/ich.bin.alles/)
1 secondary outcome
Acceptance
Time frame: Day 1 (after the Thinking Aloud Protocol)
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 4 Dec 2025.
- "ich bin alles" websiteLink provided by the sponsor.
- "ich bin alles" InstagramLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Consider briefly explaining why IPD will not or might not be shared. The data collected in this study include sensitive details about participants, such as various sociodemographic characteristics and information about mental health status. Publicly sharing the raw dataset could risk revealing individual identities, thereby violating ethical standards related to participant confidentiality. As a result, the raw data will not be publicly released. However, detailed descriptions of the methodology, materials used, and sample characteristics will be provided within the article and supplementary materials. The intervention is also publicly accessible in German on the "ich bin alles" - Instagram channel. Aggregated data and additional supporting materials may be shared upon request (contact: sara.kaubisch@med.uni-muenchen.de).
Related trials for Depressive Disorder
Recruiting
Unified Protocol in Penitentiary Facilities
Depression Disorders, Anxiety
Not yet recruiting
Preventive and Personalized Digital Emotion Regulation Skills Intervention to Reduce Depression and Anxiety in Youths With Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experience, Depression / Major Depressive Disorder
Not yet recruitingObservational study
Functional Impact of Psychological Symptoms in Patients With Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence Syndrome (SSCD): a National Cross-sectional Study
Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence
Recruiting
Trial Phase: Syndemic Adapted Medly Uganda
Mental Health
Recruiting
Cultural Adaptation of an Online Parenting Intervention to Reduce the Risk of Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents
Risk of Depression and Anxiety
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Gerd Schulte-Körne, Prof. Dr. principal investigator
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Depressive Disorder and Depression - Major Depressive Disorder, run by Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich at 1 site in Germany.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Germany. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
spontaneous thoughts and feelings (time frame: during the 30 minutes in which the young people watch "ich bin alles" (English: "I am everything") content). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Dec 2025.