Clinical trial NCT03615716: A Multi-level Approach to Violence Prevention Among African American Adolescents
Official title: A Multi-level Approach to Violence Prevention Among African American
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Violence in Adolescence
Keywords: violence
adolescence
Lead sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2018-08-06
Enrollment: 32
Sex: MALE
Minimum age (years): 11
Maximum age (years): 14
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The study has 2 groups of participants. Only one group, middle school boys (N=20), will receive the intervention. But, pre- and post-assessments will be conducted with 2 groups: (1) boys, (2) caregivers. Caregivers (N=20) will give their perspectives of boys' behavior pre- and post- intervention.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The overall goal of this study is to advance the science of youth violence prevention and the social determinants of health by using a community-driven approach to implement a comprehensive intervention. The objective of the proposed project is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an innovative, multi-level intervention that promotes adolescent protective factors and reduces risk behaviors among African American youth residing in Birmingham. Alabama.

Detailed description: Perceived neighborhood violence, hearing about violence in one's community, and being a victim of violence contributes to adverse psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, and stress, which may have cascading negative effects physically and be the start of a vicious cycle. Among children, the prevalence of neighborhood violent crime is linked to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), aggressive behavior, school attendance problems, sexual risk taking, and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

Since childhood is a critical and fragile time with respect to developmental trajectories and relationship building, it is an important time to intervene. Previous research used a deficit model focusing on risks as opposed to an asset model, which focuses on protective factors related to prosocial and positive traits. Building the protective factors (e.g., involvement in prosocial activities, intolerant attitude toward deviance, connectedness to adults outside the family) of youth can promote well-being and reduce the risks of negative outcomes. Social-emotional learning (SEL) programming targeting adolescents is thus becoming increasingly funded because of its documented success, such as higher levels of prosocial behavior, more favorable attitudes toward school and others, and better academic achievement.

The overall goal of this study is to advance the science of youth violence prevention and the social determinants of health by using a community-driven approach to implement a comprehensive intervention. The objective of the proposed project is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an innovative, multi-level intervention that promotes adolescent protective factors and reduces risk behaviors among African American youth residing in Birmingham. Alabama. According to data from the FBI's 2015 Uniform Crime Report, Birmingham is ranked as the nation's 3rd most violent city with high levels of violent crime occurring in the a neighborhood located in Northeast Birmingham, Alabama. By partnering with national and local community partners, this study proposes to design a comprehensive intervention that integrates an evidence-based, individual-level SEL program with a relationship-level mentoring component and a community-level environmental improvement component. The proposed pilot project is building on recently established community relationships. Through community capacity development funds, the investigators helped establish a community coalition in Spring of 2016 to identify and address the underlying causes of health disparities in the community. The coalition has identified violence and safety as issues that community members most desire to be addressed and has recommended strategies, such as establishing a mentoring program, providing activities for children, and organizing community improvement activities. The proposed project addresses several of these issues and our community partners have expressed enthusiastic support of the project.

The proposed project will be achieved through the following specific aims:

Aim 1: Conduct a 4-month multi-level youth violence prevention intervention that includes an individual-level social-emotional learning program with a relationship-level mentoring component and a community-level environmental improvement component. The intervention will include 20 African American male adolescents residing in a community in Birmingham, AL.

Aim 2: Assess the feasibility and acceptability of the multi-level intervention.

1. Feasibility and Acceptability (Primary Outcome): Detailed process data will be collected to assess recruitment, retention, and acceptance. It is hypothesized that 20 African American adolescents (6th-8th grade) will be recruited, \>80% of the participants will be retained, and \>80%will accept the intervention.
2. Efficacy (Secondary Outcome): To determine the effects of the intervention on aggressive behavior and prosocial behavior (protective factors). It is hypothesized that participants will have significantly lower levels of aggressive behavior and higher levels of prosocial behavior.

This study will be a significant contribution to the multi-level violence prevention literature and lay the foundation for a larger study using an experimental design to examine effects of a violence prevention intervention on individual and community health and well-being. In addition, lessons learned from this project can serve as a model to address violence prevention in similar inner-city communities in the United States.

Eligibility criteria: Boys Inclusion Criteria:

* Male
* Identify as African American or Black
* aged 11-14 years at the time of the study enrollment
* Reside in the targeted community
* Be able to meet after school once a week for 4-months.

Boys Exclusion Criteria:

* Not English speaking

Caregivers Inclusion Criteria:

* Identify as the primary caregiver of a boy enrolled in the study

Caregivers Exclusion Criteria:

* Not English speaking

Primary outcomes:
measure: Evaluate behavior using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
timeFrame: At baseline
measure: Evaluate behavior using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
timeFrame: From baseline through 4 months
measure: Evaluate behavior using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
timeFrame: From baseline through 6 months
measure: Child aggressive behavior and prosocial skills - for parent/guardian to complete
timeFrame: baseline
measure: Child aggressive behavior and prosocial skills - for parent/guardian to complete
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Child aggressive behavior and prosocial skills - for parent/guardian to complete
timeFrame: 6 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Perceived Satisfaction
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Participant satisfaction with mentors
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Utilization - Sessions
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Utilization - community service activities
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Utilization - time with mentor
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Sense of Belonging Scale
timeFrame: baseline
measure: Sense of Belonging Scale
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Sense of Belonging Scale
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: School Safety
timeFrame: baseline
measure: School Safety
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: School Safety
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Neighborhood safety
timeFrame: baseline
measure: Neighborhood safety
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Neighborhood safety
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Neighborhood Cohesion
timeFrame: baseline
measure: Neighborhood Cohesion
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Neighborhood Cohesion
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Family Cohesion
timeFrame: baseline
measure: Family Cohesion
timeFrame: 4 months
measure: Family Cohesion
timeFrame: 6 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Birmingham
country: United States
facility: The University of Alabama at Birmingham
state: Alabama
Study officials:
affiliation: The University of Alabama at Birmingham
name: Yu-Mei Schoenberger, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: