Project RISE 

LGBTQ+ youth facing internalized stigma for their LGBTQ+ identity 

Project RISE is an online program (https://ssi.kokocares.org/lsmh/rise) that is designed to help reduce internalized stigma LGBTQ+ youth may face related to their LGBTQ+ identity, as well as increase pride for their LGBTQ+ identity. Project RISE is designed to teach youth how being treated negatively because of their identities can affect them, as well as strategies to overcome these effects so the youth can live the life they would like to live

• Agency/Affiliation: Lab for Scalable Mental Health, Northwestern University
• Website: https://www.schleiderlab.org/project-rise.html
• Email: lsmh@northwestern.edu

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

• Shen, J., Rubin, A., Cohen, K., Hart, E. A., Sung, J., McDanal, R., Roulston, C., Sotomayor, I., Fox, K. R., & Schleider, J. L. (2023). Randomized evaluation of an online single-session intervention for minority stress in LGBTQ+ adolescents. Internet Interventions, 33, Article 100633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2023.100633 

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Sample:

  Age — 13–16 years (Mean=15.06 years)

  Participants: 538

  Race/Ethnicity — 48% White/Caucasian, 11% Hispanic/Latinx, 10% Black/African American, 7% Asian, 1% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 1% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

  Gender — 89% Female and 11% Male

  Status — Participants were LGBTQIA+ youth.

  Location/Institution: Not specified

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness and acceptability of Project RISE, an online single-session intervention designed to ameliorate internalized stigma and improve other outcomes among LGBTQ+ youth. Participants were randomized to Project RISE or an information-only control. Measures utilized include a modified version of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale (LGBIS), Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 (BHS-4), Children’s Depression Inventory, Second Edition: Self-Report Short version (CDI 2:SR), Generalized Anxiety Disorder – 7 (GAD-7), an adapted version of the Self-Hate Scale (SHS), and the Program Feedback Scale (PFS). Results indicate that relative to participants in the control condition, participants who completed Project RISE reported significant decreases in internalized stigma and increases in identity pride from pre- to immediately post-intervention, along with decreased internalized stigma from baseline to two-week follow-up. Participants rated both Project RISE and the information-only control as highly, equivalently acceptable. Limitations include the length of follow-up, sampling bias, and the fact that the majority of the sample were female.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 weeks.

• Sotomayor, I., Chang, Y. W., Szkody, E., Fox, K. R., & Schleider, J. L. (2026). A digital, minority stress-focused single-session intervention benefits multiply-minoritized sexual minority adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 55(2), 253–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2025.2585451 

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Sample:

  Age — 13–16 years (Mean=15.06 years)

  Participants: 538

  Race/Ethnicity — 48% White/Caucasian, 11% Hispanic/Latinx, 10% Black/African American, 7% Asian, 1% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 1% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

  Gender — 89% Female and 11% Male

  Status — Participants were LGBTQIA+ youth.   

  Location/Institution: Not specified

  Summary:

  The study used the same sample as Shen et al. (2023). The purpose of the study was to examine whether Project RISE – a digital single-session intervention focused on minority stress – was associated with equal improvements in levels of internalized stigma, identity pride, hopelessness, depression, and anxiety among youth with a single minoritized or multiply-minoritized identities and whether higher levels of social support moderated outcomes. Participants were randomized to Project RISE or an information-only control. Measures utilized include Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, a modified version of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale, Program Feedback Scale, MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status – Youth Version, Expanded Everyday Discrimination Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, and the Children’s Depression Inventory, Second Edition: Self- Report Short version. Results indicate that identifying with multiple minoritized identities was associated with higher levels of identity pride immediately post-intervention. Identifying as a gender minority was associated with slightly greater identity pride post-intervention. Youth who endorsed gender minority identities reported higher levels of hopelessness, depression, and anxiety at 2-week follow-up, relative to cisgender youth. No other differences emerged. Limitations include a high attrition rate (42%), lack of specification for the sources and quality of social support among the participants, and the length of follow-up.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 2 weeks.

There are currently no references available for Project RISE .