NCT07525778

Evaluating WhatsOK Helpline for Youth With Concerns About Sexual Thoughts and Behaviors

Not yet recruiting NA Last updated 13 April 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Contact helpline in Mental Health in 920 participants. Not yet recruiting.

Timeline

6 April 2026

Primary endpoint
29 September 2028

29 September 2029

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Center for Violence Prevention Research Inc
Phase	NA
Status	Not yet recruiting
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	single
Primary purpose	prevention
Enrollment	920
Start date	6 April 2026
Primary completion	29 September 2028
Estimated completion	29 September 2029

Drugs / interventions tested

• Contact helpline

Conditions studied

• Mental Health — all drugs for Mental Health →
• Social Support — all drugs for Social Support →
• Perceived Self-efficacy — all drugs for Perceived Self-efficacy →
• Sexual Behavior — all drugs for Sexual Behavior →

Sponsor

Center for Violence Prevention Research Inc

Who can join

Adults 14 to 17, any sex, with Mental Health or Social Support. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Research suggests up to 77% of harmful sexual experiences during childhood are caused by other youth. Sometimes called peer-peer abuse or youth-perpetrated child sexual abuse, problematic and harmful sexual behavior among youth (PHSBY) involves sexual behaviors that are not developmentally appropriate and have potential to cause harm to the child or children involved.

Compared to adults, children and adolescents who engage in sexual exploration are at greater risk of making mistakes or causing harm, in large part because they have insufficient information about healthy sexual behavior and development, consent, and related concepts. However, the available support, information, and resources for youth who have engaged in or are at risk of engaging in PSHB are limited.

To address these unmet needs, Stop it Now! (stopitnow.org) created the first youth-focused website and helpline services (WhatsOK) for young people with concerns about their sexual thoughts, interests, and behaviors. WhatsOK.org is a microsite developed specifically for youth aged 14-21 years. If a child or young person has concerns about their sexual thoughts or behaviors, the WhatsOK Online Help Center and Helpline can provide support and resources to support healthy behavior and prevent problematic or harmful behavior. If someone has already engaged in PHSBY or if they are unsure about whether what has been done is illegal, they can still reach out for confidential help to learn about taking steps to stop.

Preliminary findings from a longitudinal, observational study of the WhatsOK helpline suggest that youth are willing to seek out help for their (and others') sexual interests and behaviors, highlighting the critical need for prevention strategies targeting youth with potentially concerning sexual behaviors. We examined the characteristics of contacts to the WhatsOK helpline via data collected from pre-set questions on age, primary reason for contact, timing of inquiry relative to other help-seeking, and timing relative to harm caused. Most inquiries came from youth aged 14 to 21 (57.7%) via email (54.4%). Over half (54.6%) had already engaged in harmful or illegal behaviors or were potentially at risk to do so. The majority of contacts sought help prior to seeking out other external professional resources (54%).

The current study is a randomized control trial evaluating the impact of the WhatsOK helpline in reducing PHSBY and improving help-seeking attitudes and behavior in a sample of participants ages 14-17 with concerns about their sexual thoughts and behaviors.

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial.