Skills to Enhance Positivity in Young Adults

The goal of this study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a positive affect intervention for suicide in a population of young adults. Skills to Enhance Positivity (STEP) has been demonstrated to be feasible and acceptable among adolescents when delivered individually. The current study aims to test feasibility and acceptability in a group setting of young adults. The specific aims of STEP also seek to establish whether participants who received STEP report a significant increase in attention towards positive affect compared to those receiving Treatment As Usual (TAU). They also seek to explore whether participants who received STEP will report a significant decrease in suicidal ideation and depression compared to those receiving TAU. The final aim is to explore whether an increase in attention to positive affect regardless of condition is a potential mechanism of change for reductions in suicidal ideation and depression. Participants will be randomized into STEP or TAU groups, they will complete baseline and follow-up assessments after a period of 3-months. Participants enrolled in STEP will receive in-person group sessions focusing on psychoeducation of positive affect as well as skills in mindfulness, gratitude and savoring designed to promote positive affect. After completing the group sessions they will also receive text messages for one month, where they will receive prompts to practice skills they learned in the group setting.