Preliminary Acceptability of a Technology Enhanced Suicide Prevention Intervention for College Students (Preprint)

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs), including suicidal ideation, planning, attempts, and non-suicidal self-injury, are a significant public health concern among college students. Community college students face elevated mental health risks and persistent barriers to traditional services, particularly those from underserved and ethnoracially minoritized backgrounds, underscoring the need for scalable, accessible digital mental health interventions </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> A mixed-methods approach using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to assess the TE-SPI among 20 ethnoracially diverse college students (Mage = 22.8, SD = 3.9) from a community college (n = 10) and a four-year university (n = 10). Quantitative measures assessed satisfaction, usability, and perceived utility; qualitative analysis explored user experience, perceived ease of use, and usefulness of the TE-SPI components. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> A mixed-methods approach using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to assess the TE-SPI among 20 ethnoracially diverse college students (Mage = 22.8, SD = 3.9) from a community college (n = 10) and a four-year university (n = 10). Quantitative measures assessed satisfaction, usability, and perceived utility; qualitative analysis explored user experience, perceived ease of use, and usefulness of the BRITE app. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Most participants rated the BRITE app as helpful (90%) and user-friendly (85%), and 90% reported they would recommend it to a peer in distress. Qualitative feedback supported these findings, highlighting the app’s accessibility, relevance to student life, and perceived usefulness during moments of distress. Participants also offered concrete suggestions for app enhancements (e.g., mood scale customization, gamification, language options) and for useful caring contact messages they would want to receive. Notably, fifty-five percent of participants said they would want to receive text messages as part of TE-SPI, while 25% reported maybe/possibly wanting to receive messages. In fact, during qualitative feedback, caring contact text messages were well-received, with students emphasizing the importance of authentic, personalized messages. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> This study provides preliminary support for the TE-SPI model as an acceptable and engaging digital mental health intervention tailored to the needs of diverse college students. Its integration of safety planning, skill-building, and connection-enhancing components represents a novel approach to suicide prevention. The TE-SPI shows strong potential for real-world implementation in campus mental health services, especially in under-resourced settings. Future research should evaluate its sustained use, clinical impact, and scalability across diverse higher education contexts. </sec>