Clinical trial NCT03707366: Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens: An RCT
Official title: Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Child Abuse
Child Neglect
Risk Behavior
Delinquency
Mental Health Impairment
Substance Use
Educational Problems
Adolescent Development
Adolescent Behavior
Sexual Behavior
Child Maltreatment
Keywords: Mentoring
Positive Youth Development
Skills training
Relationships
Child Welfare
Lead sponsor: University of Denver
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2018-10-16
Enrollment: 234
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 13
Maximum age (years): 16
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Randomized controlled trial with 2 groups
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This study will implement and evaluate a mentoring program designed to promote positive youth development and reduce adverse outcomes among maltreated adolescents with open child welfare cases. Teenagers who have been maltreated are at heightened risk for involvement in delinquency, substance use, and educational failure as a result of disrupted attachments with caregivers and exposure to violence within their homes and communities. Although youth mentoring is a widely used prevention approach nationally, it has not been rigorously studied for its effects in preventing these adverse outcomes among maltreated youth involved in the child welfare system. This randomized controlled trial will permit us to implement and evaluate the Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens (FHF-T) program, which will use mentoring and skills training within an innovative positive youth development (PYD) framework to promote adaptive functioning and prevent adverse outcomes. Graduate student mentors will deliver 9 months of prevention programming in teenagers' homes and communities. Mentors will focus on helping youth set and reach goals that will improve their functioning in five targeted "REACH" domains: Relationships, Education, Activities, Career, and Health. In reaching those goals, mentors will help youth build social-emotional skills associated with preventing adverse outcomes (e.g., emotion regulation, communication, problem solving). The randomized controlled trial will enroll 234 racially and ethnically diverse 8th and 9th grade youth (117 intervention, 117 control), who will provide data at baseline prior to randomization, immediately post-program and 15 months post program follow-up. The aims of the study include testing the efficacy of FHF-T for high-risk 8th and 9th graders in preventing adverse outcomes and examining whether better functioning in positive youth development domains mediates intervention effects. It is hypothesized that youth randomly assigned to the FHF-T prevention condition, relative to youth assigned to the control condition, will evidence better functioning on indices of positive youth development in the REACH domains leading to better long-term outcomes, including adaptive functioning, high school graduation, career attainment/employment, healthy relationships, and quality of life.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Teens with open child welfare cases placed in foster care, kinship care or living at home
* Starting 8th or 9th grade
* History of child maltreatment according to child welfare and court records
* Live within 35 minutes of the University of Denver (for mentoring feasibility)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Youth with a known history of severe violent behavior and/or sexual perpetration
* Youth who are deemed unsafe or unable to participate in a community-based mentoring program by their caseworker
* Incarcerated at baseline
* Moderate or severe developmental delay or physical disability
* Youth who are/will be parenting during the prevention program

Primary outcomes:
measure: Court filings for delinquency immediately post intervention
timeFrame: immediately post-intervention (T2)
measure: Court filings for delinquency 15 months-post intervention
timeFrame: 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Self-reported delinquency immediately post intervention
timeFrame: immediately post-intervention (T2)
measure: Self-reported delinquency 15 months-post intervention
timeFrame: 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: School suspensions immediately post intervention
timeFrame: immediately post-intervention (T2)
measure: School suspensions 15 months-post intervention
timeFrame: 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Substance use immediately post intervention
timeFrame: immediately post-intervention (T2)
measure: Substance use 15 months-post intervention
timeFrame: 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Passing grades immediately post intervention
timeFrame: immediately post-intervention (T2)
measure: Passing grades 15 months-post intervention
timeFrame: 15-months-post intervention (T3)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Quality of Life
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Extracurricular activity involvement
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Connectedness to school
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Academic achievement
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Perceived Opportunities
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Trauma symptoms
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Internalizing symptoms
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Externalizing symptoms
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Dating violence
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Coping skills
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Conflict management skills
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Self-efficacy
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Resiliency
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Help seeking behaviors
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
measure: Use of protection while having sex
timeFrame: Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2) and 15-months-post intervention (T3)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Denver
country: United States
facility: University of Denver
state: Colorado
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Denver
name: Heather Taussig, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Denver
name: Kimberly Bender, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Taussig H, Weiler L, Rhodes T, Hambrick E, Wertheimer R, Fireman O, Combs M. Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens: Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Program. J Soc Social Work Res. 2015 Dec;6(4):617-642. doi: 10.1086/684021.
citation: Taussig, H.N., Bender, K., Bennett, R. Massey Combs, K., Fireman, O, & Wertheimer, R. (2020). Mentoring for teens with child welfare involvement: Permanency outcomes from a randomized controlled trial of the Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens program. Child Welfare, 97(5), 1-24.
citation: Taussig, H., Bender, K., Racz, S. & Evidence Based Policy Team, A. V. (2022, April 7). Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens. Retrieved from osf.io/673eu.