Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Plus Pilot

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Behavioral: Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Plus (SSCF+)

Brief Summary: The goal of this randomised controlled clinical trial is to test the Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Plus (SSCF+) intervention, in young (18-25 years) people living in urban informal settlements in Durban and rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Is the intervention acceptable and feasible

* What is the potential effect size on key outcomes of intimate partner violence

Participants will be randomised (1:1) to compare SSCF+ and a control arm to see if there are differences between the two on intimate partner violence.

Detailed Description: Intimate partner violence is very common in South Africa, particularly urban informal settlements. We have co-developed an intervention, called Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Plus (SSCF+), which will be evaluated in women and men aged 18-25 years living in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

This is a pilot randomised controlled trial and as such there is focus on understanding whether the intervention is acceptable (to participants), feasible to deliver, and the potential effect sizes we may see in a full trial.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Normally resident in the community where recruiting
Aged 18-30 years old
Not in formal employment, or full-time education
Able to communicate in the main languages of the study (English, isiXhosa or isiZulu)
Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
SSCF+	Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Plus (SSCF+)	Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Plus (SSCF+). Small group intervention, comprising approximately 15 sessions (each session \~3 hours), addressing gender, livelihoods, mental health.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Physical Intimate Partner Violence	6 months	Past 6 month experience (women) and perpetration (men) of physical IPV as assessed using WHO measure of IPV (5 items, binary)
Sexual Intimate Partner Violence	6 months	Past 6 month experience (women) and perpetration (men) of sexual IPV as assessed using WHO measure of IPV (3 items)
Severe Intimate partner violence	6 months	Past 6 month experience (women) and perpetration (men) of severe IPV as assessed using WHO IPV scale (8 items, coded into a binary)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Savings	6 months	Self-report past month savings (South African Rand)
Earnings	6 months	Self-reported past month earnings (South African Rand)
Livelihood Activities	6 months	Frequency of livelihood strengthening activities in the past 3 months, assessed through seven items
Capabilities	6 months	Experience of capabilities assessed through 5 items of a modified ICECAP scale
Depressive symptoms	6 months	Mean score of depressive symptoms as assessed by the Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale (CESD) comprising 20 items
Post-traumatic-stress symptoms	6 months	Post traumatic stress symptoms experienced in past week (mean) as assessed through the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (16 items)
Hunger	6 months	Past month food insecurity assessed through the 3 items of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)
Emotional Dysregulation	6 months	Assessed via the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS) short form, 16 items. Mean score.
Work stress	6 months	Experience of stress because of lack of work and money assessed through 4 items
Work shame	6 months	Experience of shame because of lack of work and money assessed through 4 items

Locations (1): South African Medical Research Council
🇿🇦
Durban, South Africa