Clinical trial NCT00158353: Evaluation of a Youth Mentoring Program
Official title: Development and Evaluation of a Youth Mentoring Program
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Self Concept
Keywords: Mentors
Self-esteem
Adolescent
Mental health
Social support
Substance use
Violence
Exercise
Nutrition
Sexual behavior
Female
Lead sponsor: University of Illinois at Chicago
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
name: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago
First posted: 2005-09-12
Enrollment: 40
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 10
Maximum age (years): 13
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This study will be used to determine the effectiveness of GirlPOWER!, an innovative mentoring program for adolescent minority girls living in urban areas.

Detailed description: The potential benefits of adolescent mentoring programs cannot be overemphasized. Mentoring may be especially beneficial to urban-living, minority adolescents who may lack role models. The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) organization administers a widely-praised and empirically-supported program that is committed to building successful mentoring relationships between adolescents and adults in their community. In collaboration with the BBBS affiliate agency in Chicago, the PI has developed an intervention called GirlPOWER! GirlPOWER! combines mentoring with self-esteem enhancement and health education and promotion strategies. This study will determine the effectiveness of the GirlPOWER! intervention and determine its feasibility in being applied to other populations.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the GirlPOWER! intervention or traditional mentoring through BBBS and followed for 1 year. Participants in the GirlPOWER! group and their mentors will engage in structured activities that focus on strengthening the mentoring relationship, promoting self-esteem, reducing levels of health-compromising behaviors such as substance use and violence, and increasing levels of health-enhancing behaviors. Traditional mentoring comprises less structured activities and typically includes general discussion of an adolescent's day-to-day life and any accomplishments and challenges he or she may have experienced. Participants will be assessed at study entry, 3 months following entry, and at the end of one year. Assessments will include surveys completed by youth as well as their parents, mentors, and teachers; academic data also will be obtained from school records.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Live in Chicago, Illinois Metropolitan area
* Parent or guardian willing to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

-Significant cognitive limitations or behavioral concerns that would preclude ability to participate appropriately in the intervention

Primary outcomes:
measure: Mental health
timeFrame: Measured at Year 1
measure: Health behaviors
timeFrame: Measured at Year 1
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Social support
timeFrame: Measured at Year 1
measure: Academic achievement
timeFrame: Measured at Year 1
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
References:
citation: DuBois DL, Holloway BE, Valentine JC, Cooper H. Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: a meta-analytic review. Am J Community Psychol. 2002 Apr;30(2):157-97. doi: 10.1023/A:1014628810714.
citation: DuBois, D. L., Silverthorn, N., Pryce, J., Reeves, E., Sanchez, B., Silva, A., Ansu, A. A., Haqq, S., & Takehara, J. (in press). Mentorship: The GirlPOWER! program. To appear in C. W. Leroy & J. E. Mann (Eds.), Handbook of preventive and intervention programs for adolescent girls. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
citation: Keller TE, Overton B, Pryce JM, Barry JE, Sutherland A, DuBois DL. "I really wanted her to have a Big Sister": Caregiver perspectives on mentoring for early adolescent girls. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2018 May;88:308-315. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.03.029. Epub 2018 Mar 19.
citation: Sanchez B, Pryce J, Silverthorn N, Deane KL, DuBois DL. Do mentor support for ethnic-racial identity and mentee cultural mistrust matter for girls of color? A preliminary investigation. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2019 Oct;25(4):505-514. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000213. Epub 2018 Oct 1.
citation: Pryce JM, Silverthorn N, Sanchez B, DuBois DL. GirlPOWER! Strengthening mentoring relationships through a structured, gender-specific program. New Dir Youth Dev. 2010 Summer;2010(126):89-105. doi: 10.1002/yd.351.