A performing arts intervention to decrease suicide stigma on campus: A three time point assessment of “Every Brilliant Thing”

Orrin D Ware, Mimi V Chapman, Denise Yookong Williams, Vivienne Benesch and Jeff Aguiar

PLOS Mental Health, 2025, vol. 2, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Suicidality is stigmatized, with discussions on the topic considered taboo by some. Fine arts may tackle subjects that people find hard to address. In 2024, a tour of “Every Brilliant Thing,” an interactive performance that introduces the topics of suicidality and suicide loss, was held on a university campus. During campuswide performances, attendees were recruited to complete anonymous self-report surveys that captured the Stigma of Suicide Scale Short Form at: Pre-Performance, Post-Performance, and 30-Day Follow-Up. Analysis of Variance with Bonferroni test for post hoc analysis examined differences in the stigma of suicide between the three timepoints. There were 196 responses at Pre-Performance, 151 responses at Post-Performance, and 104 responses at 30-Day Follow-Up. Most of the sample self-identified as female/woman (77.6%) and White (82.7%). A slight mean decrease was identified in scores for the Stigma of Suicide Scale Short Form: Overall and the Stigma of Suicide Scale Short Form: Stigma Subscale from pre-performance to post-performance. A slight decrease in the Stigma of Suicide Scale Short Form: Overall was also identified from the pre-performance timepoint to the 30-day follow-up timepoint. Considering the lifesaving importance of addressing the stigma of suicide and the innumerable persons in need of services, the fine arts can be an essential tool to reduce stigma.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000404 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article/fil ... 00404&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pmen00:0000404

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000404

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS Mental Health from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by mentalhealth ().