Clinical trial NCT01770873: A Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial of Mentoring to Prevent Youth Violence
Official title: Take Charge 2- A Multi-Center Randomized Trial of Mentoring to Prevent Youth Violence: Incorporating New Communication and Information Technology
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Violence
Keywords: Youth
Violence
Assault-injured
Mentoring
Emergency Room
Urban
Lead sponsor: Johns Hopkins University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
First posted: 2013-01-18
Enrollment: 188
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 10
Maximum age (years): 15
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to test whether a violence prevention curriculum delivered by Big Brothers and Big Sisters staff and mentors can reduce violence involvement for assault-injured youth.

Detailed description: Violent injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among adolescents. The presence of a positive adult role model is a well-established protective factor against violence and other maladaptive outcomes among youth. Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is the largest U.S. mentoring organization with proven effectiveness in improving youth outcomes. However, these programs may be less effective with youth who already are exhibiting involvement in problem behavior at the time of program referral. Take Charge!, a mentor- and professional-implemented intervention with 10-15 year old assault-injured youth, showed promise for improving perceived self efficacy for avoiding violence and for decreasing aggression and problem behavior.

The overall goal of the proposed project is to develop, implement, and evaluate a research-informed youth development program that adapts the BBBS model to work for assault-injured youth. The aims are:

* To expand and refine Take Charge! and integrate it with BBBS practices;
* To conduct a randomized, controlled trial in which assault-injured 10-15 year old youth recruited from emergency departments in Baltimore and D.C. receive either standard emergency department follow-up care or the Take Charge! 2 intervention with assessment of violence-related, mental health, and educational outcomes;
* To conduct a comprehensive process evaluation of Take Charge! 2;
* And to accurately measure the costs of the intervention and assess cost-effectiveness.

Youth violence is a major cause of morbidity and mortality with marked disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. This study is a critical next step in translating evidence-based research to real-world settings and practice.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Treatment for an assault injury in the emergency room
* English speaking (parent and youth)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Treatment for child abuse, sexual abuse, sibling fights, or police fights
* Severe psychopathology

Primary outcomes:
measure: Fighting
timeFrame: Past 30 days
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Baltimore
country: United States
facility: Johns Hopkins University
state: Maryland
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
name: Tina L Cheng, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Lindstrom Johnson S, Jones V, Ryan L, DuBois DL, Fein JA, Cheng TL. Investigating Effects of Mentoring for Youth with Assault Injuries: Results of a Randomized-Controlled Trial. Prev Sci. 2022 Nov;23(8):1414-1425. doi: 10.1007/s11121-022-01406-z. Epub 2022 Jul 25.