NCT03615716

A Multi-level Approach to Violence Prevention Among African American Adolescents

A Multi-level Approach to Violence Prevention Among African American

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 32 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 11 Years – 14 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

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.

Conditions

• Violence in Adolescence

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Multi-level Violence Prevention Intervention - Boys	Comprehensive, Multi-level Violence Prevention Intervention. The intervention consists of three components: (1) a 15-week after-school program, (2) group mentoring, and (3) community enhancement activities. Adolescents and mentors will attend a 2-hour weekly session at a community center, and will conduct up to four community enhancement activities. At the end of the program, a graduation celebration will be planned, and parents/guardians and stakeholders (e.g., coalition members) will be invited.
BEHAVIORAL	Multi-level Violence Prevention Intervention - Caregivers	This is arm is measuring the Multi-level Violence Prevention Intervention that is administered to the boys, from the perspectives of their caregivers. The caregivers themselves will not receive an intervention, but their perspectives of the impact on the interventions on the boys will be examined

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-02-11
• Primary completion: 2019-06-12
• Completion: 2019-06-12
• First posted: 2018-08-06
• Last updated: 2019-08-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States