NCT03906682

Improving Mental Health and School Performance in Urban Eighth Graders

RAP Club: Improving Mental Health and School Performance in Urban Eighth Graders

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 615 (actual)
• Sponsor: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study assesses: (1) the impact of the Relax, Be Aware, Do a Personal Rating (RAP) Club, a school-based prevention program for urban eighth graders, on students' emotional functioning and education outcomes; (2) potential moderators and mediators of RAP Club's effects; and (3) factors related to the implementation of RAP Club, including cost of delivery and perceptions of key stakeholders.

Detailed description

Youth in low-income urban communities are often exposed to chronic stress and trauma, which poses risk for emotional, behavioral, and academic problems. This study will evaluate the impact of RAP Club, a trauma-informed school-based prevention program intended to promote positive emotional and academic development for eighth graders. Participants will be randomly assigned within schools to receive RAP Club or Healthy Topics, a health education active control condition. The study will achieve the following specific aims: 1. Test whether students randomized to RAP Club have improved academic, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes as compared to those randomized to Healthy Topics (e.g., student-reported mood and stress; teacher-rated academic performance; academic record data). 2. Explore potential moderators (e.g., baseline trauma exposure, emotional regulation) and mediators (e.g., changes in self-regulation and emotional symptoms) of RAP Club's effects. 3. Evaluate factors related to program implementation, including cost of delivering RAP Club versus Healthy Topics and perceptions of key stakeholders (teachers, group facilitators, students) regarding intervention acceptability and sustainability.

Conditions

• Depressive Symptoms
• Trauma, Psychological
• Disruptive Behavior

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	RAP Club	RAP Club was adapted from a trauma treatment program called Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS). Core program components include psychoeducation, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral strategies.
BEHAVIORAL	Healthy Topics	Co-investigator Dr. Sibinga developed the Healthy Topics curriculum to function as an active control condition for randomized controlled trials in both clinic-based and school-based studies of mindfulness instruction for urban youth. Adapted from the Glencoe Health Curriculum (McGraw Hill), it was designed to control for the effects of a positive adult, time and attention, a small group learning environment, engaged instruction, and interesting material. The Healthy Topics curriculum has been successfully implemented as an effective active control condition, with student engagement and participation comparable to the intervention arm. The curriculum includes information about nutrition, exercise, sleep, drug use, and other topics related to physical health.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-07-01
• Primary completion: 2020-05-30
• Completion: 2021-08-13
• First posted: 2019-04-08
• Last updated: 2022-08-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States