Youth
Conditions
Brief summary
AVANCE seeks to understand if participation in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures (A-HBF) program is associated with improved outcomes among the target population of at-risk, homeless, and incarcerated youth. Additionally, the evaluation will examine how and why participant-level characteristics such as relationship status, life status, and demographics are associated with greater or lesser benefit from A-HBF program participation. This research will provide insights about the Survival Skills for Healthy Families curriculum and its effectiveness for the target population that can be used in the development of future programming efforts.
Detailed description
Trauma-informed services are needed to improve self-sufficiency, economic stability, and healthy relationships among at-risk, homeless, and incarcerated youth in Harris County, especially those living in areas with high numbers of single-family households, high poverty rates, low educational attainment, high teen pregnancy rates, high incidence of domestic violence, and high involvement with the (juvenile) justice system. AVANCE-Houston's Building Futures program (A-HBF) aims to facilitate successful transitions to adulthood for cohorts of at-risk and homeless youth by offering healthy relationship and marriage education through the Survival Skills for Healthy Families (SSHF) curriculum. Developed by Family Wellness Associates, SSHF is an evidence-based curriculum delivered through a series of workshops that focus on communication skills, conflict resolution, knowledge of the benefits of marriage, stress and anger management, parenting skills, financial literacy, job and career advancement, and relationship skills to improve family and economic stability. AVANCE will offer the curriculum via weekly workshops for youth that take place in targeted high-need areas. AVANCE seeks to understand if participation in the A-HBF program is associated with improved outcomes among the target population of at-risk and homeless youth. Additionally, the evaluation will examine how and why participant-level characteristics such as relationship status, life status, and demographics are associated with greater or lesser benefit from A-HBF program participation. This research will provide insights about the SSHF curriculum and its effectiveness for the target population that can be used in the development of future programming efforts.
Interventions
OTHERBuilding Futures Program Primary Services
Primary Services Participants receive 14 hours of Survival Skills for Healthy Families curricula delivered over a series of 7 weekly workshops. Participants also receive support services delivered by Family Coaches and Career Coaches as needed.
Sponsors
Midwest Evaluation & Research
Avance Clinical Pty Ltd.
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Primary Services Participants receive 14 hours of Survival Skills for Healthy Families curricula delivered over a series of 7 weekly workshops, or 16 hours of Survival Skills for Healthy Families curricula delivered over one weekend followed by 2 hours of a Reflections Workshop delivered two weeks later. Participants also receive support services delivered by Family Coaches and Career Coaches as needed.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
14 Years to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Youth (aged 14-18) * High-needs school districts enrolled in grades 9-12 * Residing in juvenile detention center
Exclusion criteria
* Adult (age 19 and older)-youth can be age 18 and enrolled into the study * Youth (age 14 and younger) * Not enrolled in school (non-incarcerated youth)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy Partner Relationship Behavior Measurement #1 | baseline and follow-up 12-months post-enrollment | 1A) Will participants report healthier partner relationship behaviors after they complete primary services and support services in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures Program? Items measured include: 5 items - levels of reported skill with key relationship behaviors (categories; 4-point scale) Measured on the Healthy Parenting Behavior Scale #1 as: 1=I am extremely good at this, 2=I am good at this, 3=I am bad at this, 4=I am extremely bad at this The lower the rating, the better the score. The construct is created by adding all 5 scores together and dividing by 5. Maximum score: 4.0, minimum score: 1.0 |
| Healthy Partner Relationship Behavior Measurement #2 | baseline and follow-up 12-months post-enrollment | 1B) Will participants report healthier partner relationship behaviors after they complete primary services and support services in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures Program? Items measured include: 6 items - frequency of engagement in key relationship behaviors (categories; 5-point scale) Measured on the Healthy Parenting Behavior Scale #2 as: 1=none of the time, 2=some of the time, 3=half of the time, 4=most of the time, 5=all of the time The lower the rating, the better the score. The construct is created by adding all 6 scores together and dividing by 6. Maximum score: 5.0, minimum score: 1.0 |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy Partner Relationship Attitudes Measurement #1 | Change from baseline in partner relationship attitudes to immediately after program completion (7 weeks) | 2A) Will participants report healthier partner relationship attitudes after they complete primary services and support services in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures Program? Items measured include: 9 items - levels of agreement with relationship beliefs (categories; 4-point scale) Measured on the Healthy Relationship Attitudes Scale #1 as: 1=strongly agree, 2=agree, 3=disagree 4=strongly disagree The construct is created by adding all 9 scores together and dividing by 9. Maximum score: 4.0, minimum score: 1.0 The higher the score, the better the outcome. |
| Healthy Partner Relationship Attitudes Measurement #2 | Change from baseline in partner relationship attitudes to immediately after program completion (7 weeks) | 2B) Will participants report healthier partner relationship attitudes after they complete primary services and support services in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures Program? Items measured include: 3 items - likelihood of key relationship beliefs (categories; 5-point scale) Measured on the Healthy Relationship Attitudes Scale #2 as: 1=almost no chance, 2=some chance but probably not, 3=a 50-50 chance, 4=a good chance, 5=almost certain The three items are added together and divided by three to get a score. The higher the score, the better the outcome. maximum score: 5, minimum score: 1 |
| Healthy Sexual Attitudes Measurement #1 | Change from baseline in sexual attitudes from enrollment to immediately after program completion (7 weeks) | 3A) Will participants report healthier sexual attitudes after they complete primary services and support services in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures Program? Items measured include: 7 items - levels of agreement with key sexual attitudes (categories; 4-point scale) Measured on the Healthy Sexual Attitudes Scale #1 as: 1=strongly agree, 2=agree, 3=disagree 4=strongly disagree The lower the rating the better the outcome. The construct is created by adding all 7 scores together and dividing by 7. Maximum score: 4.0, minimum score: 1.0 |
| Healthy Financial Attitudes Measurement #1 | baseline and follow-up at 12-months post-enrollment | 4A) Will participants report healthier financial attitudes after they complete primary services and support services in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures Program? Items measured include: 8 items - levels of agreement with key financial attitudes (categories; 5-point scale) Measured on the Healthy Financial Attitudes Scale #1 as: 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neither agree nor disagree, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree The higher the score, the better the outcome. The construct is created by adding all 8 scores together and dividing by 8. Maximum score: 5.0, minimum score: 1.0 |
| Healthy Employment Attitudes Measurement #1 | Change from baseline in employment attitudes to immediately after program completion (7 weeks) | 5A) Will participants report healthier employment attitudes after they complete primary services and support services in the AVANCE-Houston Building Futures Program? Items measured include: 8 items - levels of agreement with key employment attitudes (categories; 5-point scale) Measured on the Healthy Employment Attitudes Scale #1 as: 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neither agree nor disagree, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree The construct is created by adding all 8 scores together and dividing by 8. The higher the score, the better the outcome. Maximum score: 5.0, minimum score: 1.0 |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMatt D Shepherd, PhD
Midwest Evaluation & Research
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | — |
|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 718 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 0 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 15.75 years |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 43 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 29 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 251 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 173 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 14 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 208 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 409 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 309 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk |
|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 718 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 718 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 718 |
Outcome results
None listed