Girls Invest: A Mobile-Enabled Economic Empowerment Intervention for Girls

Investigators will assess the preliminary effects of Girls Invest, an innovative savings intervention that aims to reduce economic, social, and health behavior risks associated with disproportionately high rates of pregnancy among US Latina adolescents. Recommended models of adolescent pregnancy prevention in the US focus on modifying social norms (e.g., norms supporting early childbearing), as well as sexual health knowledge and skill-building; however, such efforts are not likely effective in reducing economic risk factors (e.g., financial reliance on male partners, low expectations for future career and educational achievements). Girls Invest involves a multidisciplinary conceptual model adapting the most effective prevention strategies from the disciplines of public health and economics to address social and economic risks associated with adolescent pregnancy. Participants receive a savings account (via our collaborating bank) with $100 deposited in increments based on completion of each module of a gender and life skills training via a mobile "app." Girls Invest will be evaluated among a community sample of Latina adolescents residing in economically disenfranchised neighborhoods in San Diego County with high rates of adolescent pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy is a concern in San Diego and other US-Mexico border regions, where rates are higher compared to the rest of the US or elsewhere in Mexico. Compared to other racial/ethnic groups, Latina adolescents of Mexican origin have the highest pregnancy rates. In California, where Latinos constitute 39% of the population, 30% of all Latinas give birth prior to their 20th birthday. Latina adolescents ages 15-22 will be recruited among 18 community-based organizations and schools within low-income neighborhoods of San Diego County region. Half of the sites will be randomized to receive Girls Invest and the remaining assigned to a wait-list control condition (n= 9 sites per arm; total = 200 girls). To assess feasibility and fidelity, investigators will track (via data logs and app-based data) all aspects of recruitment, retention, and intervention completion. In-depth interviews with Girls Invest participants and focus groups with key stakeholders will inform acceptability and scalability of Girls Invest. Participants will complete a questionnaire at baseline and 6 months follow-up to assess evidence of improvements in intermediate outcomes. Regression analyses will assess treatment effects on intermediate outcomes. Investigators hypothesize that at follow-up, compared to control participants, Girls Invest participants will have reduced economic vulnerability (e.g., reduced financial reliance on male partners, improved expectations for future career and educational achievements), decreased social risks for pregnancy (e.g., intentions to delay pregnancy), and improved prioritization, knowledge of, and attitudes supportive of contraceptive use. Study findings will inform a full-scale efficacy trial of Girls Invest.