Testing the Causal Effects of a Civic Engagement Intervention on Health and Wellbeing Among Youth (I-ACTED)

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this research is to understand how participating or not participating in an action civics curriculum may affect the health and wellbeing of young people. Participants will be chosen from students who attend certain schools that choose to participate in the action civics curriculum. Participation in this research involves completing surveys during class time in the Spring and Fall 2021-2022 semesters and then completing online surveys outside of class in the future.

Detailed Description
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Equal access to civic resources, such as opportunities for civic engagement and connections to one's community, are an important part of a culture of health. Meaningful experiences in civic engagement and community connectedness are transformative for young people - especially for youth from marginalized backgrounds, who often feel voiceless and excluded from decision-making in civic and social institutions. Theories and correlational evidence point to positive associations between civic engagement (e.g., volunteering, voting, and feelings of civic empowerment) and better mental, physical, and behavioral health and wellbeing. Meaningful civic engagement experiences may have an especially powerful effect on health and wellbeing for those from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. However, causal pathways between civic interventions, civic outcomes, and health and wellbeing outcomes among are not firmly established. Further, how civic engagement and sense of community affect health and wellbeing outcomes are unknown, and questions remain about for whom these effects may be especially beneficial. In this study, we ask whether an established civic intervention called Action Civics affects civic engagement and sense of community, and subsequently affects health and wellbeing among youth. To build on these observational findings, the study team will: (a) examine the causal links between youth civic engagement and sense of community and health, and (b) test whether an established school-based, civic engagement intervention can affect individual health and wellbeing and equity outcomes.

Official Title
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The I-ACTED Study: Testing the Causal Effects of a Civic Engagement Intervention on Health and Wellbeing Among Youth

Conditions
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Mental Health Wellness 1, Social Interaction, Health Attitude

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Participating in Action Civics program


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Currently enrolled Middle or High School student Enrolled in a course with a teacher from a school participating in the study

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 10 Years
Maximum Age: 20 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Action Civics program<br>Students in this arm will take part in an Action Civics (AC) program. AC delivers action civics programming to young people from diverse backgrounds nationwide. AC offers a school-based action civics curriculum in which classes collectively choose a local issue, learn strategies and skills for taking civic action, develop an action plan, and take action on their selected local issue. Students, as a class, tackle topics ranging from health-related (e.g., health of school lunches) to safety-related (e.g. lack of crosswalks) to community social issues (e.g., community-police relations). | Behavioral: Participating in Action Civics program<br>* Students in school classrooms participating in Action Civics program<br>|
| No Intervention: No Action Civics program<br>Students in this arm will receive no intervention. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Youth Inventory of Involvement (activism, political engagement, and leadership items) | Questionnaire measures civic engagement using a Likert scale (1-5) with higher composite scores indicating more involvement in each domain | Baseline | 
| Youth Inventory of Involvement (activism, political engagement, and leadership items) | Questionnaire measures civic engagement using a Likert scale (1-5) with higher composite scores indicating more involvement in each domain | 4-6 month following baseline | 
| Youth Inventory of Involvement (activism, political engagement, and leadership items) | Questionnaire measures civic engagement using a Likert scale (1-5) with higher composite scores indicating more involvement in each domain | 1 year following baseline | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Community Connection Scale | Questionnaire measures sense of community using a Likert scale (1-5) with higher scores indicating higher sense of community. Based on from the California Healthy Kids Survey. | baseline, 4-6 month following baseline, 1 year following baseline | 
| Questionnaire from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health | Questionnaire measures physical and mental health and wellbeing. Response options vary from 4-6 levels for the scales; higher numbers indicate better health. | baseline, 4-6 month following baseline, 1 year following baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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civic engagement, health, social wellbeing, behavioral health