NCT03109184

Violence Prevention for Middle School Boys

Partner Violence Prevention for Middle School Boys: A Dyadic Web-Based Intervention

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 119 (actual)
• Sponsor: Northeastern University · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 12 Years – 14 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study will develop and test a web-based intervention to enhance emotion regulation skills and parent-son relationship communication to decrease adolescent boys' risk for dating violence involvement as well as attitudes supporting relationship aggression.

Detailed description

Over the past ten years dating violence (DV) has been recognized as a significant public health problem affecting adolescents. Emerging data suggest that boys and girls have different developmental trajectories toward violence and therefore prevention programs that target their unique pathways to DV are needed. Despite this need, there is a relative dearth of such gender-informed programs for early adolescent boys. This research project aims to prevent the emergence of DV perpetration/ victimization among boys by developing a web-based intervention that is informed by research on gender-specific pathways to violence and harnesses the influence of parents during the early adolescent years. Among boys, the perpetration of delinquency-related violence and attitudes supporting violence has been found to predict later perpetration of DV. Thus, gender-informed interventions designed to prevent DV in boys need to target skills that underlie violent behavior and attitudes. The goal of this study is to develop and test a web-based intervention to enhance emotion regulation skills and parent-son relationship communication to prevent DV. Development and testing will occur in three phases. In the Development Phase, the intervention modules will be developed and iteratively reviewed by both a panel of experts familiar with the research in the field as well as an advisory group of parents and teens from the target population. In the Acceptability Testing Phase, testing will be conducted to assess acceptability and feasibility, and this will be followed by revisions to the intervention program based on feedback and observations. During the Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) Phase, 120 families will complete the intervention program in an observed setting, to ensure fidelity to intervention dosing. Parents and adolescents will complete the program together and then complete assessments of aggressive and risk behaviors, parent-child communication, and emotion regulation at baseline, 3-,and 9-month follow-ups.

Conditions

• Intimate Partner Violence

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Project STRONG	The web-based program consists of a number of games, activities, and didactic information that teens move through with their parent. Didactic information introduces teens and parents to specific emotion management, communication, and problem solving strategies as well as sexual health and healthy relationship information. Games and activities allow parents and teens to practice and apply strategies to developmentally appropriate situations.

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-01-01
• Primary completion: 2018-08-30
• Completion: 2018-12-31
• First posted: 2017-04-12
• Last updated: 2019-11-20
• Results posted: 2019-11-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States