Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40444451›Full record

Trial reportJournal of traumatic stress2025

An online intervention designed to reduce self-stigma and increase help-seeking in Arabic-speaking refugees with posttraumatic stress symptoms: A randomized controlled trial.

Natalie Mastrogiovanni, Angela Nickerson

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of traumatic stress, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Natalie MastrogiovanniSchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2910-9307
Angela NickersonSchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite elevated rates of psychopathology, refugees underutilize mental health services. Mental health self-stigma is a prominent barrier to accessing psychological support; however, there is limited research on intervention approaches to reduce self-stigma among refugees. The present study aimed to provide further support for the Tell Your Story (TYS) intervention in reducing self-stigma and increasing help-seeking among Arabic-speaking male and female refugees. In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), 67 Arabic-speaking refugees with self-stigma and at least subthreshold posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were randomly allocated to the TYS group or waitlist control group. At baseline, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up, participants completed assessment measures indexing measures of self-stigma (related to symptoms and help-seeking) and help-seeking (intentions and behavior). Poisson regression analyses revealed that participants in the TYS group demonstrated more help-seeking behavior at 3-month follow-up than those in the waitlist control group, Hedges' g = 0.67. However, linear mixed models showed that the waitlist control group demonstrated larger decreases in PTSD-related self-stigma across time, T2: g = 0.07, T3: g = 0.04, whereas no significant group differences were observed for self-stigma related to help-seeking. Although the findings were mixed and suggest a need for further investigation in a larger RCT with a sample of refugee men and women, the results provide support for the intervention's utility in expanding one's help-seeking network in a population with low treatment uptake.

Indexed as

Help-Seeking BehaviorInternet-Based InterventionPatient Acceptance of Health CareRefugeesSocial StigmaStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticAdultArabsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID40444451
PMCPMC12551623

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.