Evaluation of a Cultural Humility and Social Justice Training Program for Volunteer Mentors of Youth of Color
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Enrollment
- 813
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Mentor Attunement Scale - Youth Version
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The aim of this study is to examine whether and how the provision of a cultural humility and social justice training and support program to volunteer mentors can change their interactions with youth, improve the effectiveness of programs and foster positive outcomes for low-income youth of color. Mentor-youth dyads (N=240) will be randomly assigned either to an intervention that includes cultural humility and social justice training and enhanced support or to a control group. Survey and interview data will be collected from a variety of sources, including mentors, youth, parents and case managers. Case records about mentor-youth dyads will also be collected.
Detailed Description
The aim of this study is to examine whether and how the provision of a cultural humility and social justice training and support program to volunteer mentors can change their interactions with youth, improve the effectiveness of programs and foster positive outcomes for low-income youth of color. The study's specific aims are to investigate:
-
The impact of a cultural humility and social justice training and supports for BBBS mentors of youth of color on:
-
mentor's cultural humility and social justice knowledge, attitudes and approach to their mentoring relationships,
-
the quality of the mentor-youth relationships, and
-
youth's developmental outcomes
-
The processes through which the intervention achieves the above effects.
The study is being conducted in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) and participants will be recruited from 7 BBBSA affiliates located in different regions of the U.S. Participants will include 240 mentor-youth dyads and their case managers and youth's parents. Youth will be low-income, youth of color between the ages of 9 and 17 years. Mentor-youth dyads will be randomly assigned either to an intervention that includes cultural humility and social justice trainings and enhanced support or to a control group (business as usual). Mentors will complete survey measures at baseline, 4 months and 12 months. Youth and case managers will complete survey measures at baseline and 12 months, while parents complete a baseline survey. Program case records will be examined as well. A subset of mentor-youth dyads (n=24) and their case managers and parents will participate in a qualitative longitudinal study. The qualitative methods will include two individual interviews of youth and mentors, a virtual dyadic interview of the mentoring dyad, interviews with parents and case managers as well as recorded supervisory contacts with mentors.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 9 Years to 17 Years (Child)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •youth is between 9 and 17 years of age
- •youth is eligible for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based Mentoring (CBM) program as determined by initial assessment of program staff
- •youth is a member of a racial/ethnic minority group, such as African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Native Alaskan/Native Hawaiian, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern/North African or Arab American
- •Parents of the above youth who are able to complete study measures in English or Spanish
- •Mentors are eligible for the study if they are applying and accepted to the CBM program and are eventually matched with a youth who meet the study criteria above or currently in an existing match with a youth who meet eligibility criteria.
Exclusion Criteria
- •anyone who doesn't meet the above inclusion criteria
Arms & Interventions
Culturally Smart Relationships
The mentors assigned to this group will receive additional trainings and support related to Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI).
Intervention: Culturally Smart Relationships (Behavioral)
Control Group
The mentors assigned to this group will NOT receive an intervention. They will receive the regular training activities that the agency provides.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Mentor Attunement Scale - Youth Version
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported scale - MAS-Y; Pryce \& Deane, 2019; 15 items. Mean scores range from 1 to 6; higher scores indicate higher mentor attunement.
Self-efficacy beliefs for engaging in conversations about racial injustice
Time Frame: 12 months
Mentor report - 4-item scale created for this study (Sánchez et al., 2021) - mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores reflect higher self-efficacy
Colorblind racial attitudes
Time Frame: 4 months
Mentor report - Unawareness of Racial Privilege subscale of the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS; Neville et al., 2000) - 7 items - Mean scores range from 1 to 6; 6 items are reverse scored; higher scores reflect more unawareness of racial privilege
Mentor support for coping with discrimination
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth-reported 8-item scale created for this study (Sanchez, Herrera, DuBois, \& Anderson, 2021); 3 reversed scored items; mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores indicate more support from mentors on youth's coping with discrimination.
Activities and discussions on race and social justice issues - Mentor
Time Frame: 12 months
Mentor reported - 11-item scale created for this study (Sanchez, Herrera, DuBois, \& Anderson, 2021). Mean scores range from 0 to 3; Higher scores indicate more frequent engagement in activities and discussions about race and social justice.
Activities and discussions on race and social justice issues - Youth
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported - 11-item scale created for this study (Sanchez, Herrera, DuBois, \& Anderson, 2021). Mean scores range from 0 to 3; higher scores indicate more frequent engagement in activities and discussions about race and social justice.
Cultural clashes
Time Frame: 12 months
Mentor Reported Challenges Scale - 3 items (Herrera et al., 2014); mean scores range between 1 and 4; higher scores reflect more cultural clashes in the relationship.
Mattering
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported measure; Sense of Mattering Scale (Rosenberg, 1981) - 5 items - modified items and response scale for this study; mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores reflect higher perceptions that youth matters to adults outside their family.
Ethnic/racial identity (MIBI - T) - Private Regard
Time Frame: 12 months
youth reported - Private Regard Subscale of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity- Teen (MIBI-T) - 3 items (Scottham, Sellers, \& Nguyen, 2008; Rivas-Drake, Hughes, \& Way, 2009); mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores reflect more positive perceptions about one's ethnic/racial group.
Cultural Humility
Time Frame: 4 months
Mentor report - Empathic Feeling and Expression Subscale from Ethnocultural Empathy Scale (Wang et al., 2003) - 15 items - mean scores range from 1 to 6; 2 reversed scores items; higher scores reflect higher empathic feeling and expression
Self-efficacy beliefs for providing ethnic/racial support
Time Frame: 12 months
Mentor report - 6-item scale (Anderson et al., 2018) - mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores reflect higher self-efficacy
Openness to adult support
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported - Interpersonal Trust Scale (DuBois, 2006) - 5 items. modified some items and response scale for this study; 1 reversed scored item; mean scores range between 1 and 4; higher scores reflect more trust towards adults.
Community connectedness
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported measure; Whitlock, 2007; 5 items; modified the response scale for this study; 1 reversed scored item; mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores reflect higher community connectedness.
Ethnic identity (exploration)
Time Frame: 12 months
youth reported - Ethnic Identity Scale - exploration subscale Brief - 2 items (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015); mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores reflect higher engagement in activities that explore one's ethnic/racial group
Youth-centered relationships
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported - Youth Centered Relationships Subscale of Youth Survey - 5 items. Youth-reported scale; mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores indicate a more youth-centric mentoring relationship.
Perceived Knowledge
Time Frame: 4 months
Mentor report - Adapted measure of Multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills scale (D'Andrea et al., 2003) - 13 items. Items were added and adapted to reflect the current intervention. Mean scores range from 1 to 4. Higher scores reflect higher perceived knowledge.
Activities/discussions on racial/ethnic socialization
Time Frame: 12 months
mentor reported - 6-item scale created for this study (Sanchez, Herrera, DuBois, \& Anderson, 2021). Mean scores range between 0 and 3. Higher scores reflect more frequent racial/ethnic socialization activities and discussions.
Mentor Attunement Scale
Time Frame: 12 months
Mentor reported scale - 7 item scale(Pryce \& Deane, 2019). Mean scores range between 1 and 6. Higher scores reflect higher mentor attunement.
Ethnic/racial identity (MIBI - T) - Public Regard
Time Frame: 12 months
youth reported - o Public Regard Subscale of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity- Teen (MIBI-T) - 3 items (Scottham, Sellers, \& Nguyen, 2008; Rivas-Drake, Hughes, \& Way, 2009); mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores reflect more positive societal perceptions about one's ethnic/racial group.
Mentor support for ethnic/racial identity
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported scale (Sanchez et al., 2018) - adapted for the current study and added 5 items for a total of 11 items - 1 reversed scored item; Mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores indicate more support from mentors on youth's ethnic/racial identity.
Ethnic identity (affirmation)
Time Frame: 12 months
youth reported - affirmation subscale brief - 3 items (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015); all items are reversed scored; mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores indicate higher affirmation about one's ethnic/racial group
Cultural Mistrust
Time Frame: 12 months
Youth reported - Cultural Mistrust Inventory for Adolescents (Terrell \& Terrell, 1981) - cultural mistrust in interpersonal relationships subscale modified by Sanchez \& DuBois (2006) - 11 items; 5 reversed scored items; mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores indicate more cultural mistrust towards White people
Coping efficacy with discrimination
Time Frame: 12 months
youth reported - 3 items adapted for this study (Sandler et al., 2000; Sanchez et al., 2017); mean scores range from 1 to 4; higher scores indicate higher efficacy in coping with racial discrimination.
Secondary Outcomes
- Police & Juvenile Justice Contact(12 months)
- Emotional regulation(12 months)
- Bullying(12 months)
- Risky behaviors(12 months)
- Social Justice interest(4 months)
- Emotional Closeness - Mentor(12 months)
- Support seeking(12 months)
- Loneliness(12 months)
- Academic performance(12 months)
- Relationship satisfaction - mentor(12 months)
- Mentor advocacy(12 months)
- Match duration(12 months)
- Depressive symptoms(12 months)
- Critical reflection(12 months)
- Academic self efficacy(12 months)
- Bias Awareness(4 months)
- Authentic self(12 months)
- Emotional Closeness - Youth(12 months)
- Relationship satisfaction - youth(12 months)
- Hopeful future expectations(12 months)
- System Justification Scale(12 months)
- Adolescent Critical Consciousness(12 months)
- Mentoring activities(12 months)
- Growth mindset(12 months)
Investigators
Bernadette Sanchez
Principal Investigator
University of Illinois at Chicago