Clinical trial NCT03495635: Randomized Controlled Trial of Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring for Prevention of Crime and Delinquency
Official title: Randomized Controlled Trial of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based Mentoring Program for Prevention of Crime and Juvenile Delinquency
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Crime
Juvenile Delinquency
Keywords: mentoring
prevention
Lead sponsor: University of Illinois at Chicago
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Laura and John Arnold Foundation
name: Herrera Consulting Group, LLC
name: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
name: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
First posted: 2018-04-12
Enrollment: 1361
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 10
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Enrolled participants will be assigned randomly to participate in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based Mentoring Program (treatment group) or to a wait-list control group that is not eligible to participate in the program for a period of 4 years.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) community-based mentoring (CBM) program for prevention of crime and delinquency/conduct problems, including risk and protective factors for these outcomes. Approximately 2,500 youth ages 10-16 will be randomly assigned to either the CBM program or an untreated control group. Study outcomes will be assessed over a 4-year period via both youth- and parent-report surveys and official records of police/court contact (e.g., arrests).

Detailed description: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) community-based mentoring (CBM) program for prevention of crime and delinquency/conduct problems, including risk and protective factors for these outcomes. Participants will be recruited from 16 BBBSA affiliates, which are located in different regions of the U.S. and were invited to serve as sites for the study using a random selection process. The study sample will consist of approximately 2,500 youth ages 10-16 whose parents seek services from one of the participating BBBSA affiliates during the study enrollment period and for whom consent/assent to participate in the research is obtained. Enrolled youth will be randomly assigned to participate in the CBM program (treatment group) or to a control group (no BBBSA programming during the youth's 4-year period of study participation). Youth will be assigned in a 3:1 ratio to the treatment and control groups. Youth and parents will complete survey measures both at study enrollment, prior to notification of assignment to control or treatment group, and 18 months later. Official records of police/court contact (e.g., arrests), with separate parent/guardian consent as provided at study enrollment, will be obtained both for the period preceding each youth's enrollment in the study and for a 4-year period following enrollment.

The study has 4 specific aims:

1. To determine the effects of participation in the Big Brothers Big Sisters CBM program on youth offending as measured by police/court records, i.e., person offense, property offense, drug law violation, public order offense, or status offense.
2. To determine the effects of participation in the BBBS CBM program on the likelihood of youths' involvement in delinquent behavior/conduct problems as assessed by youth and parent reports.
3. To determine the effects of BBBS CBM program participation on the likelihood of youths' involvement in substance use as assessed by self-reports of alcohol use to point of drunkenness, tobacco, or illicit drug use.
4. To determine the effects of BBBS CBM program participation on both risk and protective factors for delinquent/criminal behavior, such as aggression, depressive symptoms, association with deviant peers, self-control, and school connectedness, as assessed by youth and/or parent reports, and to explore the role of these effects in mediating effects of program participation on offending, delinquent behavior, and substance use.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion criteria:

* youth is 10 years of age or older
* youth is likely to be eligible for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based Mentoring program as determined by initial assessment of program staff

Exclusion criteria:

* youth has a severe learning, cognitive or other intellectual disability as reported by the parent
* parent does not both speak and read either English or Spanish
* youth does not have a sibling who is already a study participant
* youth has been matched with a Big Brother/Sister through one of the affiliate's programs in the past
* youth has a sibling currently receiving services from the affiliate for whom services were initiated (i.e., inquiry was made) prior to start of the study
* youth belongs to a group that the affiliate is excluding from study participation based on previous agreement with the research team
* youth is designated as an exception case by affiliate staff (each affiliate will have the opportunity to exclude up to 4% of study-eligible youth from the research prior to consent and random assignment for any reason deemed appropriate (e.g., perceived high need of the youth))

Primary outcomes:
measure: Arrest
timeFrame: 4 years
measure: Arrest
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Delinquency
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Substance use
timeFrame: 18 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Truancy
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Association with deviant peers
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: School suspensions
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Depressive symptoms
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Impulsivity
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Conventional values
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Aggressive behavior
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Academic success
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Positive parenting
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Parent involvement
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Parental monitoring and supervision
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Parental consistent discipline
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Family relationships
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Perceived social support from family members
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Perceived social support from peers
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Perceived social support from special person
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: School engagement
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Goal-setting and pursuit
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Involvement in out-of-school-time activities
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Volunteering in the community
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Life satisfaction
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Self-esteem
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Happiness
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Grit
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Social competence
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Special interest development
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Hopeful future expectations
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Career exploration
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: College exploration
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Self-advocacy
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Coping efficacy
timeFrame: 18 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Chicago
country: United States
facility: University of Illinois at Chicago
state: Illinois
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago
name: David L DuBois, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Herrera Consulting Group, LLC
name: Carla Herrera, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
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