A Feasibility Trial of Sisterhood 2.0
Condition: Adolescent Behavior; Violence in Adolescence; Group, Peer; Violence, Non-accidental; Violence, Sexual; Violence, Physical; Violence, Domestic; Emotional Abuse; Coping Skills; Communication, Personal
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This pilot quasi-experimental community based trial examines the feasibility of a sexual
      violence and adolescent relationship abuse prevention program for girls aged 14-19.
      Feasibility is assessed through participant attendance, retention and program satisfaction
      measures and interviews are conducted at baseline, end of program and 3 month follow up
      (endline) about participant experiences.
    

Detailed description: 
      The goal of the project is to adapt and pilot a "gender transformative," sexual violence and
      adolescent relationship abuse prevention program, Sisterhood 2.0, among African American high
      school-age females in a community-based setting. The Sisterhood 2.0 curriculum was adapted
      from Program M, created in 2006 by Promundo to address health and empowerment of young women
      aged 15-24. The curriculum engages young women in questioning rigid and non-equitable
      stereotypes about masculinity and femininity and how these rigid stereotypes affect their
      health and well-being. This study will pilot test, using a quasi-experimental design, the
      participant satisfaction with the program through measures of attendance and retention, and
      be compared to a job skills development curriculum. This study is significant because there
      are too few evidence-based sexual violence and adolescent relationship abuse prevention
      program in the U.S., none that are specifically tailored for African American adolescent
      females, and there are no evidence- based programs implemented in community settings that
      target both sexual violence and adolescent relationship abuse and adolescent sexual health.
    

Intervention name(s): Sisterhood 2.0
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The Sisterhood 2.0 curriculum was adapted from Program M, created in 2006 by Promundo to address health and empowerment of young women aged 15-24. The curriculum engages young women in questioning rigid and non-equitable stereotypes about masculinity and femininity and how they affect both women's and men's health and well-being.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: The 18-24 hour content (divided into 8, 3 hour sessions) are spread over a 3 week to 2 month period. Sessions explored gender, consider harmful messages around femininity and socially acceptable images of women, healthy sexuality, healthy relationships and connections, understanding and identifying sexual abuse and assault, and self care.
Control Program: The control intervention used widely-used curricula focused on job skills development and life skills. Trained prevention educators provided the programs for both intervention and control arms and were trained to implement either the Sisterhood 2.0 program or the job skills curriculum.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention