An Emotion Regulation Intervention for Early Adolescent Risk Behavior Prevention
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Risk Behavior
- Sponsor
- Rhode Island Hospital
- Enrollment
- 85
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Emotion Regulation/Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 6 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
This study will take a group-based intervention for adolescents that reduced sexual risk behavior and create a computer-based version, which is a format that adolescents like and that is more cost-effective. The intervention focuses on teaching adolescents skills for managing their emotions when they are making decisions that could put them at risk (like whether to have sex or drink alcohol). The investigators are hoping to learn whether a computer version of the program will be useful in helping adolescents learn about emotional competence and reducing risky behaviors. The investigators will make a version of the intervention as games on tablet computers in a partnership with a technology company, Klein Buendel. The research team will begin by getting advice from adolescents and experts (in separate groups) about how to convey the ideas from the group program into computer games. Klein Buendel will then create the games. Then, about 10 adolescents will be asked to try out the program and give us feedback about things to change. Klein Buendel will make those changes. Then the investigators will ask about 100 adolescents to volunteer to be randomly placed in one of two groups. One group will do the computer program right away; the other will wait for three months. Both groups will be asked to answer questions and do computer tasks when the team meets them, one month later, and three months later. The investigators will compare the groups to see if the group that received the computer intervention reports being more emotionally competent than the group that has not yet done the computer intervention. The research team will also ask them about their risk behaviors. If this is useful, it may be a good way to enhance health education taught in schools.
Detailed Description
Emotion regulation in adolescence is associated with health risk behaviors, including sex and substance use, and early onset of these behaviors represents a risk factor for negative health outcomes throughout life. Thus, interventions appropriate for early adolescence, when these behaviors commonly begin, are critical for prevention efforts. The research team has developed and tested a novel, engaging, and efficacious intervention that addresses emotion regulation, a theoretically important and under-researched factor associated with risk. The efficacy trial of this intervention, Project TRAC, showed that an intervention strategy using emotion regulation was significantly more successful than an active comparison condition on the primary target, delaying onset of sexual activity over a two and a half year follow-up, as well as on other risk behaviors, such as condom use, fighting, and partner violence. While efficacious, the current face-to-face, small group format of the program is a difficult model to sustain and implement on a larger scale. With a long-term goal toward dissemination, this two-year project will translate the emotion regulation components of this successful program for tablet-based delivery to enable it to reach a large audience in a format that can be related to a variety of health behavior education topics (e.g., sexual health, violence, substance use). For the proposed project, the Rhode Island Hospital/ Brown University research team will collaborate with Klein Buendel, a health communications technology company, to translate the emotion regulation content of Project TRAC for tablet computers. This translation, using well-established theoretical frameworks, will be approached in consultation with members of the target population (early adolescents) and experts in the field. After the intervention has been translated to a tablet form, ten adolescents will test the program to assess acceptability and usability. Finally, a small pilot study (n=100) will assess feasibility of the translated intervention and compare it to a waitlist control group.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •attending the seventh grade at a participating school
- •being between the ages of 12 and 14
Exclusion Criteria
- •those who cannot read English at a 4th grade level
- •those with developmental delays
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Emotion Regulation/Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale
Time Frame: baseline- 3 month follow up
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale- The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (36 items) uses 6 subscales (all α \> .80) to assess perceptions of skill in ER, awareness, and impulse control based on Linehan's theoretical work. The six subscales are: 1. Nonacceptance of emotional response (6 items) 2. Difficulties engaging in goal directed behavior \[goals\] (5 items) 3. Impulse control difficulties \[impulse\] (6 items) 4. Lack of emotion awareness \[awareness\] (6 items) 5. Limited access to emotion regulation strategies \[strategies\] (8 items) 6. Lack of emotional clarity \[clarity\]. (5 items) Participants rate their responses on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never)- 5 (almost always). The total score is calculated from the sum of all the items, with higher scores indicating greater problems with emotion regulation. (Total possible range: 36-180)
Secondary Outcomes
- Emotion Regulation/Emotion Regulation Checklist(baseline-3 month follow up)
- Emotion Regulation/Self Efficacy Questionnaire for Children(baseline-3 month follow-up)
- Assessment Risk Behavior/Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System(Baseline-3 month follow up)
- Emotion Regulation/ The Regulation of Emotions Questionnaire(baseline-3 month follow up)
- Emotion Regulation/Affect Dysregulation Scale(baseline-3 month follow up)
- Distress Tolerance(baseline-3 month follow up)
- Emotion Recognition/DANVA(Baseline-3 month follow up)
- Emotion Regulation/Emotion Regulation Behavior Scale(baseline-3 month follow up)