NCT06587139

Evaluation of Teen Connection Project for Trans and Gender Minority Youth

An Online Mentoring Program to Prevent Adversities Among Trans and Other Gender Minority Youth (PILOT RCT PHASE)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 56 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Michigan · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 14 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this project is to develop and evaluate an online mentoring and skill-building program for transgender and/or gender minority youth (TGMY) ages 14 to 18, the Teen Connection Project (TCP). The TCP includes seven 90-minute sessions facilitated by transgender and/or gender minority (TGM) adults (who are also mentors). TGMY will be paired with a TGM adult mentor, based on their shared interests. Mentors and mentees will participate together in each session along with other mentors and mentees. Mentors will direct activities and discussion to promote TGMY social-emotional skills. The TCP sessions will include one-on-one mentor-mentee break-out sessions.

Detailed description

Transgender and/or gender minority youth (TGMY) (i.e., any identity other than cisgender) experience concerning rates of mental health problems, self-harm, alcohol and drug use, sexual risk-taking, and violence victimization and perpetration. Minority stress theory states that peer and family rejection and internalized transphobia predict negative health outcomes in TGMY. This highlights the urgent need to identify effective programs that prevent psychosocial and behavioral health issues among TGMY. Mentoring programs may be especially impactful for TGMY, given that these programs may help alleviate adverse outcomes associated with peer and family rejection, and promote self-acceptance among TGMY. However, few mentoring programs exist specifically for TGMY, and those that do have not been rigorously evaluated; often require guardian permission; generally occur in person via community organizations--which excludes TGMY in high stigma, rural areas of the United States from participating; and rarely include evidence-based skill-building components (e.g., social-emotional skills). The specific aims of this trial are as follow: 1. Assess acceptability and feasibility of the Teen Connection Project (TCP) through observations (to evaluate program delivery and observe mentor-mentee interactions), post-session surveys, and exit interviews with participants. 2. Generate preliminary data on the TCP's efficacy in reducing psychosocial and behavioral health issues facing TGMY, including mental health problems, self-harm, alcohol and drug use, sexual risk-taking, and teen dating violence. 3. Identify treatment options for TGMY. The purpose of this project is to develop and evaluate an online mentoring and skill-building program for transgender and/or gender minority youth (TGMY) ages 14 to 18, the Teen Connection Project (TCP). The TCP includes seven 90-minute sessions facilitated by transgender and/or gender minority (TGM) adults (who are also mentors). TGMY will be paired with a TGM adult mentors, based on their shared interests. Mentors and mentees will participate together in each session, along with other mentors and mentees. Mentors will direct activities and discussion to promote TGMY social-emotional skills. The TCP sessions will include one-on-one mentor-mentee break-out sessions.

Conditions

• Recreational Drug Use
• Sexual Violence
• Victimisation
• Depressive Symptoms
• Anxiety
• Suicidal Ideation
• Risk-Taking
• Alcohol Drinking

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Teen Connection Project (TCP)	The Teen Connection Project (TCP) includes seven 90-minute sessions facilitated by transgender and/or gender minority (TGM) adults. Each transgender and/or gender minority youth (TGMY) will be paired with a TGM adult mentor based on TGMYs' rank-ordered preference for mentors. The research team seeks to match mentors \& mentees such that each TGMY is matched with one of their top 3 preferred mentors. Mentors and mentees participate together in each session along with other mentors \& mentees. Facilitators direct activities/discussion to promote TGMY social-emotional skills acquisition and facilitate mentor-mentee conversations. TCP sessions also include mentor-mentee breakout sessions where mentors share challenges they personally faced as TGMY and how they overcame them. Break-out discussions focus on self-acceptance, coming out, dating questions, hopes and goals for the future, \& how other marginalized social identities, such as race and ethnicity, intersect with identifying as TGMY.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-07-22
• Primary completion: 2025-06-03
• Completion: 2025-06-03
• First posted: 2024-09-19
• Last updated: 2025-11-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States