Title: Pilot Cluster RCT of Project Respect: a school-based intervention to prevent dating and relationship violence and address health inequalities among young people
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: Aims I. With stakeholders, to elaborate and optimise Project Respect. II. To conduct a pilot RCT (four intervention, two control schools) in southern England. Research questions 1. Is progression to a phase III RCT justified in terms of pre-specified criteria? 2. Which of two existing scales is optimal for assessing dating and relationship violence (DRV) victimisation and perpetration as primary outcomes in a phase III RCT? 3. What are likely follow-up rates in a phase III RCT? 4. Do the estimates of prevalence and intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) of DRV derived from the literature look similar to those found in the UK? 5. Are secondary outcome and covariate measures reliable and what refinements are suggested? 6. What refinements to the intervention are suggested by the process evaluation? 7. What do qualitative data suggest about how contextual factors might influence implementation, receipt or mechanisms of action? 8. Do qualitative data suggest any potential harms and how might these be reduced? 9. What sexual health and violence related activities occur in and around control schools? Objectives a. To elaborate and optimise Project Respect and produce intervention materials. b. To adapt and cognitively test the ‘Safe Dates’ (SD) and ‘short Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory’ (CADRI) scales prior to piloting. c. To recruit six schools, undertake baseline computer assisted self interviewing (CASI) survey of 2 cohorts of students at the end of years 8 and 9 plus online staff survey, and randomise four schools to receive the intervention and two to be usual-treatment controls. d. To ensure Project Respect is implemented for students in years 9 and 10 and conduct process evaluation, plus follow-up student CASI and staff online surveys 16 months post baseline. e. To address the above research questions to inform progression to a phase III RCT. Design and methods After optimising and elaborating the intervention with NSPCC, young people, teachers and the evaluators of the US programmes which inform our intervention, we will conduct an external pilot cluster randomised trial with integral process evaluation and economic evaluation feasibility study. We will purposively select schools varying by local deprivation and attainment. After baseline surveys, schools will be randomly allocated 2:1 to intervention/control (1:1 in full trial), stratified by attainment (also by local deprivation in full trial). The intervention will be delivered for 1 school year (2 in full trial). Follow-up survey will occur 16 months post-baseline (28 months in full trial). Process evaluation will involve: audio-recording/assessment of training; logbooks completed by NSPCC and school staff leading delivery; observations of randomly sampled curriculum session per school; student and staff surveys; and interviews with purposive sample of NSPCC and school staff, and students in intervention/control schools. Analysis will assess: whether criteria for progression to a phase III trial are met; recruitment/ retention and prevalence of dating and relationship violence in the control group; reliability of self-report measures including testing 2 options for our primary outcome measure; factors influencing feasibility and acceptability; violence- and sexual health-related activities in and around intervention and control schools; potential mechanisms of benefits and of any unintended harms; and the feasibility of economic evaluation.

Lay abstract: ‘Dating and relationship violence’ means violence that happens in or after a sexual or romantic relationship. It can include threats, emotional and relational abuse, controlling behaviours, physical violence and non-consensual sex. We aim to evaluate ‘Project Respect’, a programme to be piloted in English secondary schools. Project Respect aims to prevent dating and relationship violence among young people regardless of their gender or sexuality. Project Respect has been developed in collaboration with NSPCC, young people, teachers and evaluators of effective US programmes. Project Respect involves: -Classroom lessons delivered by NSPCC staff to students age 13-15. These will aim to challenge attitudes about gender and violence, and develop communication and anger management skills. They will also enable students to run campaigns challenging harassment and dating and relationship violence in and beyond their schools. -Distribution to students of the “Circle of 6” app. This helps individuals contact friends or the police if threatened by or experiencing dating and relationship violence (http://www.circleof6app.com/). -Training by NSPCC of school staff in safeguarding to prevent, recognise and respond to gender based harassment and dating and relationship violence. -Training by NSPCC for school senior staff to enable them to review school rules and policies to help prevent and respond to gender-based harassment and dating and relationship violence, and increase staff presence in ‘hotspots’ for these behaviours. -Written information for parents. We eventually want to do a large study to assess whether Project Respect works in reducing dating and relationship violence. But first we want to do a smaller study to assess whether the intervention and our research methods are practically possible. This will involve four state secondary schools delivering the programme and two others acting as comparison sites. First, we’ll conduct questionnaire surveys to examine student characteristics before the programme (when they’re at the end of years 8 and 9 aged 12-13 and 13-14 years old). Then we’ll randomly decide which four schools will deliver the programme and which two won’t. This allows a fair comparison. Then the programme will be delivered by the NSPCC and school staff. While the programme is being delivered, we will interview staff and students, and collect other data to find out what they think of the intervention. We’ll also observe one curriculum session per school. Then we’ll do a second questionnaire survey of students at the end of the programme, by which time they will be at the beginning of years 10 and 11 (aged 14-15 and 15-16) as well as a survey of all school staff. This research won’t tell us whether the programme has reduced dating and relationship violence. But it will tell us whether the programme is possible to deliver in schools, and whether students and staff like it. It should tell us whether it would be feasible and worthwhile doing a larger study which could tell us whether the programme reduces dating and relationship violence.

Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING;6.6 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE