Future Leaders Program: Testing a Youth Civic Leadership, Engagement, and Mindfulness Program
Purpose
The current study tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a youth intervention designed to provide meaningful leadership opportunities and to address barriers to equity, through the acquisition of civic leadership and development skills as well as mindfulness practice, LEAP: Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness. The goal of this project is to determine whether the Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness (LEAP) curriculum, which was developed with youth of color, is a feasible and effective intervention for fostering civic leadership, civic development, and wellbeing. The investigators seek to understand whether LEAP can support wellbeing for youth of color as a strategy to increase youth mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health and decrease health disparities in youth of color.
Conditions
- Adolescent Behavior Problem
- Mental Health Wellness 1
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Over 14 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- Adolescents ages 14 and older in grades 9-12 during the Fall/Winter or in grades 9-11 during the Spring - Enrolled in a partner site in MA or Chicago, Il - Adolescents are only included with parent consent and youth assent if they are under the age of 18. Adolescents at least 18 years old can provide consent.
Exclusion Criteria
- They participated in the pilot phase (UG3) - They cannot commit to participation in the full study (e.g., attendance at all intervention sessions) - They are not in grades 9-12 at a partner site - Parent/guardian has a preferred consent language other than English or Spanish.
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Intervention Model Description
- Individually Randomized Group Treatment Trial Design
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- Single (Outcomes Assessor)
- Masking Description
- Outcomes assessors will be masked to study condition.
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness |
The Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness intervention (LEAP) consists of 14 sessions focused on youth civic engagement, leadership, and mindfulness. |
|
|
Active Comparator EnvisionIT |
EnvisionIT is a college and career-readiness program designed for students in grades 6-12. The EnvisionIT program will be delivered over 14 sessions, and focus on skills and career/college readiness. |
|
Recruiting Locations
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- Boston University Charles River Campus
Detailed Description
The LEAP study will determine whether a 14-session program designed to provide leadership and mindfulness skills to youth of color is an effective and feasible intervention. The curriculum consists of 14 two-hour sessions delivered after school. The comparison group will take part in EnvisionIT, a college and career readiness program designed for students in grades 6 through 12. EnvisionIT aims to prepare students with essential transition skills, digital literacy, and college and career readiness. The comparison group will also have 14 two-hour group sessions. Both LEAP and EnvisionIT will be delivered by trained facilitators. All participants in LEAP and EnvisionIT will be assessed at four time points assessing program outcomes; facilitators will also complete interviews post-intervention and provide feedback on data fidelity and acceptability following each session. This record reports on the UH3 phase of the grant.