Homeless Youth Study - Stepping Stone 2.0

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Mental Health Issue (E.G., Depression, Psychosis, Personality Disorder, Substance Abuse)
• Interventions: Behavioral: Mobile self-help intervention

• Registration Number: NCT03776422
• Lead Sponsor: Rush University Medical Center

Brief Summary

Housing instability is both a cause and consequence of mental health problems. As such youth experiencing housing instability (e.g., homeless or marginally housed) have higher rates of mental health problems.Because of their circumstances, these youth also face significant barriers to mental health care and are therefore less likely to receive the treatment that they need. Mobile technology may offer a novel platform for increasing access to mental health care in this population. The primary goals of this pilot study are to (1) establish the feasibility and acceptability of delivering automated mental health interventions via smartphone technology, (2) examine the extent to which automated mental health interventions delivered via mobile technology improve mental health in homeless, marginally-housed, and exiting foster youth.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2017-12-21
• Study First Submitted: 2018-12-12
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-12-12
• Study First Posted: 2018-12-14
• Primary Completion: 2019-07-08
• Study Completion: 2019-07-08
• Status Verified: 2019-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-09-26
• Last Update Posted: 2019-09-27

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 100

Inclusion Criteria

• 16-25 years

• English-speaking

• Youth must meet one of the following risk criteria

  • Experiencing housing instability as defined by:

    • lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence OR whose primary nighttime residence is a shelter, institution, or a "public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings"
    • sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing [or] economic hardship.
    • frequent moves, poor housing quality (e.g., living in severely overcrowded housing).

  • Imminently leaving the foster care system

• Willingness and ability to comply with requirements of the study protocol

Exclusion Criteria

* Inability to understand study procedures and participate in the informed consent process.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Mobile self-help intervention	Mobile self-help intervention	This study uses automated self-help interventions designed as a kit of smartphone tools.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Program adherence	Baseline to Endpoint (6 months)	Program adherence will be assessed based on usage data determining how often participants utilized the study applications, and how often they completed daily surveys and rated daily tips.
Program satisfaction	Midpoint (3 months) and Endpoint (6 months)	Program satisfaction will be assessed using a self-report questionnaire that participants will be asked to complete at the midpoint and endpoint of the study. Participants will be asked to report the extent to which they benefited from the study, how helpful the mobile applications were, and if they would recommend the study to others. These responses are recorded on 5-point likert type scales with higher ratings indicating higher satisfaction.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anxiety symptoms	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	Anxiety symptoms will be assessed using the adaptive PROMIS Bank v1.0 for anxiety.
Alcohol use	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	Alcohol use will be assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C).
Cannabis use	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	Cannabis use will be assessed using the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test - Revised (CUDIT-R).
Risky sexual behavior	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	Risky sexual behaviors will be assessed using the sexual behavior items from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2011).
Satisfaction with life: Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	General satisfaction with life will be assessed using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). This measure is 5 items, with each item rated on a scale from 1-7. All 5 items are summed to achieve a total score of 5-35. Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction with one's life circumstances.
PTSD symptoms	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	PTSD symptoms will be assessed using the The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5).
Psychosocial flourishing	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	Psychological resources and strengths will be assessed using the Flourishing Scale (FS). This measure is 8 items, with each item rated on a scale from 1-7. All 8 items are summed to achieve a total score of 8-56. Higher scores indicate that an individual has more psychological resources and strengths.
Depression symptoms	Baseline (0 months), Midpoint (3 months), Endpoint (6 months)	Depression symptoms will be assessed using the adaptive PROMIS Bank v1.0 for depression.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Rush University Medical Center; 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States