Intervention to Enhance Coping and Help-seeking Among Youth in Foster Care
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06019377 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : August 31, 2023
Last Update Posted : April 9, 2024
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Sponsor:
Portland State University
Collaborator:
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Jennifer Blakeslee, Portland State University
Tracking Information | |||||||||
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First Submitted Date ICMJE | August 18, 2023 | ||||||||
First Posted Date ICMJE | August 31, 2023 | ||||||||
Last Update Posted Date | April 9, 2024 | ||||||||
Estimated Study Start Date ICMJE | April 15, 2024 | ||||||||
Estimated Primary Completion Date | March 2026 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure) | ||||||||
Current Primary Outcome Measures ICMJE |
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Original Primary Outcome Measures ICMJE | Same as current | ||||||||
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Current Secondary Outcome Measures ICMJE |
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Original Secondary Outcome Measures ICMJE | Same as current | ||||||||
Current Other Pre-specified Outcome Measures |
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Original Other Pre-specified Outcome Measures | Same as current | ||||||||
Descriptive Information | |||||||||
Brief Title ICMJE | Intervention to Enhance Coping and Help-seeking Among Youth in Foster Care | ||||||||
Official Title ICMJE | Pilot Testing an Intervention to Enhance Coping and Increase Mental Health Help-seeking Among Transition-age Youth in Foster Care | ||||||||
Brief Summary | This study will deploy a scalable secondary prevention program that leverages existing foster youth transition services to improve mental health functioning and service use before and after exiting foster care. Our short-term objective is to remotely test a group intervention called Stronger Youth Networks and Coping (SYNC) that targets cognitive schemas influencing stress responses, including mental health help-seeking and service engagement, among foster youth with behavioral health risk. SYNC aims to increase youth capacity to appraise stress and regulate emotional responses, to flexibly select adaptive coping strategies, and to promote informal and formal help-seeking as an effective coping strategy. The proposed aims will establish whether the 10-module program engages the targeted proximal mechanisms with a signal of efficacy on clinically-relevant outcomes, and whether a fully-powered randomized control trial (RCT) of SYNC is feasible in the intended service context. Our first aim is to refine our SYNC curriculum and training materials, prior to testing SYNC in a remote single-arm trial with two cohorts of 8-10 Oregon foster youth aged 16-20 (N=16). Our second aim is to conduct a remote two-arm individually-randomized group treatment trial with Oregon foster youth aged 16-20 with indicated behavioral health risk (N=80) to examine: (a) intervention group change on proximal mechanisms of coping self-efficacy and help-seeking attitudes, compared to services-as-usual at post-intervention and 6-month follow-up: and (b) association between the mechanisms and targeted outcomes, including emotional regulation, coping behaviors, mental health service use, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Our third aim is to refine and standardize the intervention and research protocol for an effectiveness trial, including confirming transferability with national stakeholders. | ||||||||
Detailed Description | Young people transitioning from the foster care system have elevated risk for a range of mental health diagnoses that for many are exacerbated by psychosocial coping difficulties, sparse support networks, and service disengagement. This population is less prepared to cope with mental health challenges and more likely to have negative perspectives on help- seeking, increasing the risk of unmet treatment needs as service use rapidly declines following the exit from foster care. Our long-term goal is to deploy a scalable secondary prevention program that leverages existing foster youth transition services to improve mental health functioning and service use before and after exiting foster care. Our short-term objective is to remotely test a group intervention called Stronger Youth Networks and Coping (SYNC) that targets cognitive schemas influencing stress responses, including mental health help-seeking and service engagement, among foster youth with behavioral health risk. SYNC aims to increase youth capacity to appraise stress and regulate emotional responses, to flexibly select adaptive coping strategies, and to promote informal and formal help-seeking as an effective coping strategy. SYNC results from intervention development to design a novel program using evidence- based cognitive change methods, including adapting the Coping Effectiveness Training (CET) curriculum for foster youth. SYNC is designed for delivery by service providers in federally-funded Independent Living Programs (ILPs) accessed by most foster youth in the US. Initial feedback from foster youth, service providers, and our advisory panel confirmed the acceptability of SYNC curriculum topics (e.g., stress and coping, navigating services) and program strategy (e.g., groups co-facilitated by "near-peer" young adults with foster care and mental health care experience). The proposed aims will establish whether the 10-module program engages the targeted proximal mechanisms with a signal of efficacy on clinically-relevant outcomes, and whether a fully-powered RCT of SYNC is feasible in the intended service context. Our first specific aim is to refine our SYNC curriculum and training materials, prior to testing SYNC in a remote single-arm trial with two cohorts of 8-10 Oregon foster youth aged 16-20 (N=16). Our second aim is to conduct a remote two-arm individually-randomized group treatment trial with Oregon foster youth aged 16-20 with indicated behavioral health risk (N=80) to examine: (a) intervention group change on proximal mechanisms of coping self-efficacy and help-seeking attitudes, compared to services-as-usual at post-intervention and 6-month follow-up: and (b) association between the mechanisms and targeted outcomes, including emotional regulation, coping behaviors, mental health service use, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Our third aim is to refine and standardize the intervention and research protocol for an effectiveness trial, including confirming transferability with national stakeholders. The demonstration of target engagement with initial evidence of efficacy, plus standardized intervention materials and a feasible research protocol, will prepare us for an effectiveness trial (R01) of a model that is expected to be widely transferable for implementation across the country, and one that can ultimately be adapted for other youth service settings (e.g., juvenile justice) and subgroups (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer [LGBTQ], youth of color), expanding long-term public health impact. | ||||||||
Study Type ICMJE | Interventional | ||||||||
Study Phase ICMJE | Not Applicable | ||||||||
Study Design ICMJE | Allocation: Randomized Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Intervention Model Description: 10-module group psychoeducational curriculum model Masking: None (Open Label)Primary Purpose: Prevention |
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Condition ICMJE |
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Intervention ICMJE | Behavioral: Stronger Youth Networks and Coping (SYNC)
SYNC is a 10-module online curriculum adapted from evidence-based cognitive change methods, including Coping Effectiveness Training (CET), co-facilitated by service providers in Independent Living Programs (ILPs; federally-funded transition skill-building services accessed by most foster youth in the US) and near-peers (have lived experience in foster care). SYNC aims to increase youth capacity to appraise stress and regulate emotional responses, to flexibly select adaptive coping strategies, and to specifically promote informal and formal help-seeking as an effective coping strategy.
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Study Arms ICMJE |
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Publications * | Not Provided | ||||||||
* Includes publications given by the data provider as well as publications identified by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number) in Medline. |
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Recruitment Information | |||||||||
Recruitment Status ICMJE | Recruiting | ||||||||
Estimated Enrollment ICMJE |
96 | ||||||||
Original Estimated Enrollment ICMJE | Same as current | ||||||||
Estimated Study Completion Date ICMJE | August 2026 | ||||||||
Estimated Primary Completion Date | March 2026 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure) | ||||||||
Eligibility Criteria ICMJE | Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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Sex/Gender ICMJE |
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Ages ICMJE | 16 Years to 20 Years (Child, Adult) | ||||||||
Accepts Healthy Volunteers ICMJE | No | ||||||||
Contacts ICMJE |
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Listed Location Countries ICMJE | United States | ||||||||
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Administrative Information | |||||||||
NCT Number ICMJE | NCT06019377 | ||||||||
Other Study ID Numbers ICMJE | 227953-18 1R34MH127141-01A1 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract ) |
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Has Data Monitoring Committee | No | ||||||||
U.S. FDA-regulated Product |
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IPD Sharing Statement ICMJE |
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Current Responsible Party | Jennifer Blakeslee, Portland State University | ||||||||
Original Responsible Party | Same as current | ||||||||
Current Study Sponsor ICMJE | Portland State University | ||||||||
Original Study Sponsor ICMJE | Same as current | ||||||||
Collaborators ICMJE | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) | ||||||||
Investigators ICMJE |
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PRS Account | Portland State University | ||||||||
Verification Date | April 2024 | ||||||||
ICMJE Data element required by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the World Health Organization ICTRP |