Evaluation of My Future Self, an New Teen Pregnancy Prevention Group Intervention for Youth in Non-traditional Settings

NCT ID: NCT05796687

Last Updated: 2024-01-02

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 704 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-04-13
• Study Completion Date: 2027-01-31

Brief Summary

Children's Hospital Los Angeles and ETR will implement and test the effectiveness of a pregnancy prevention intervention, My Future Self, targeting youth ages 16-19 in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties who, for a variety of reasons, are receiving education or training in non-traditional settings. These youth typically experience a combination of needs related to unstable or no housing, extreme poverty, involvement with child welfare or juvenile justice, historical trauma, and/or learning differences. My Future Self is a 5 week program consisting of 5 group sessions. Our study will enroll up to 704 highly mobile youth from various sites in Los Angeles and San Diego. Youth will be randomized to receive the My Future Self intervention in conjunction with their regular services or just their regular services. All youth enrolled will complete baseline, 6 month and 12 month surveys.

Detailed Description

Children's Hospital Los Angeles and ETR will implement and test the effectiveness of a pregnancy prevention intervention, My Future Self, targeting youth ages 16-19 in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties who, for a variety of reasons, are receiving education or training in non-traditional settings. These youth typically experience a combination of needs related to unstable or no housing, extreme poverty, involvement with child welfare or juvenile justice, historical trauma, and/or learning differences.

Currently, there are a few evidence-based interventions that focus on sub populations of these youth in alternative schools (All4You!, All4You2!), those at risk for dropping out of school (Crossroads/TCAP), and those coming from out of home care settings (Power Through Choices). However additional interventions are needed as these youth represent a vulnerable population with unique needs and barriers to pregnancy prevention requiring approaches that are tailored to nontraditional educational settings, familial circumstances, developmental trajectory, and that are synergistic with the generational reliance on technology.

Conditions

Teen Pregnancy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

My Future Self Intervention

My Future Self - 5 group sessions; 1 hour each over 5 weeks; content includes: health education around abstinence and contraception methods, and consideration of goals of parenthood and family planning in their adult future; future plans, discussion of healthy intimate partner relationships/

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

My Future Self

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

My Future Self is based upon the Theory of Possible Selves, which promotes the capacity of young people to construct goals for a successful adulthood. Youth who hold a balanced set of negative and positive images of their future have both a) a positive goal to strive for and b) awareness of the personally relevant consequences of not meeting that goal. My Future Self also includes two new supportive gaming elements that reinforce learning of relevant knowledge and skills as well as provide opportunities for youth to individually practice these skills in a personalized virtual environment. Gaming interventions using interactive technology can significantly increase self-reported abstinence and lower reports of diagnosed STD in young women, as well as reduce risky sex in high-risk young men who have sex with men. Youth will participate in these gaming elements on tablets provided by CHLA. My Future Self will be implemented as a ninety-minute small group 5-week program.

Control

Youth will continue to receive any services that they would normally receive around health education.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

My Future Self

My Future Self is based upon the Theory of Possible Selves, which promotes the capacity of young people to construct goals for a successful adulthood. Youth who hold a balanced set of negative and positive images of their future have both a) a positive goal to strive for and b) awareness of the personally relevant consequences of not meeting that goal. My Future Self also includes two new supportive gaming elements that reinforce learning of relevant knowledge and skills as well as provide opportunities for youth to individually practice these skills in a personalized virtual environment. Gaming interventions using interactive technology can significantly increase self-reported abstinence and lower reports of diagnosed STD in young women, as well as reduce risky sex in high-risk young men who have sex with men. Youth will participate in these gaming elements on tablets provided by CHLA. My Future Self will be implemented as a ninety-minute small group 5-week program.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Youth will be eligible for enrollment in the evaluation if they:

• Are served, or identified on outreach, by one of our partner youth-serving agencies or schools
• Are ages 16-19 years
• Are English-language speakers
• Are not currently pregnant
• Have no immediate travel plans (i.e., are planning on being in the area for the length of the intervention)
• Have not previously enrolled in the study, and
• Answer the baseline survey items related to our primary outcome (which will be assessed after completion of the baseline survey).

Exclusion Criteria

• Outside of age range
• Currently pregnant
• Not planning to be in the area for the length of the intervention)
• Previously enrolled in the study

• Minimum Eligible Age: 16 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 19 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

ETR Associates

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Children's Hospital Los Angeles

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Mona Desai

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Mona Desai

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Locations

Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Mona Desai

Role: CONTACT

mdesai@chla.usc.edu

3233613107

Frances LaSalle-Castro

Role: CONTACT

flasallecastro@chla.usc.edu

323-361-4605

Facility Contacts

Frances LaSalle-Castro

Role: primary

flasallecastro@chla.usc.edu

323-361-4605

Other Identifiers

CHLA-23-00049

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id