A Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial of Mentoring to Prevent Youth Violence

NCT ID: NCT01770873

Last Updated: 2018-10-09

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 188 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2013-10-31
• Study Completion Date: 2018-09-30

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.

Conditions

Violence

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Take Charge 2

Receipt of BBBS mentoring plus youth and parent violence prevention curriculum

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Take Charge 2

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Youth assigned to the intervention receive a Big Brothers, Big Sisters (BBBS) mentor. During the match process, BBBS staff provide 3 session on violence prevention for the youth's parents. Six months into the mentoring relationship, mentors provide 6 sessions on violence prevention for the youth.

Control

Standard emergency room protocol followed

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Take Charge 2

Youth assigned to the intervention receive a Big Brothers, Big Sisters (BBBS) mentor. During the match process, BBBS staff provide 3 session on violence prevention for the youth's parents. Six months into the mentoring relationship, mentors provide 6 sessions on violence prevention for the youth.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

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

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 15 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Johns Hopkins University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Tina L Cheng, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Johns Hopkins University

Locations

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Countries

United States

References

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.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 35877056 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

TC2-2P20

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2P20MD000198-11

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

NA_00075613

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id