School Attendance Problems
Conditions
Keywords
School attendance problems, Back2School, Norway, Randomized controlled trial, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Children and adolescents
Brief summary
In this study we will investigate the effects of an intervention called Back2School, revised and adapted for Norwegian conditions on school attendance. A total of 240 participants will be recruited. All participants who have been enrolled will receive the intervention. Half of the participants will receive the intervention without delay (the experiment group), and the other half will receive it following a 13-week period (the control group). Following consent, screening for eligibility and randomization, the intervention will start with an assessment related to the individual participant and condition at the participants' school. Based on this a shared understanding and an intervention plan is developed. Over a 13-week period the youth, the family and the school, work together guided by the municipal team to increase attendance and solve problems related to this. Assessments will be carried out after the intervention and 6 months later.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBack2School
The revised Back2S school manual consists of an initial assessment, a case formulation conference, 16 sessions and 3 meetings with different participants (parents, youth, school personnel) over 13 weeks. There is a booster session 12 weeks after the final session and one 24 weeks after the final session.
Sponsors
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
The Research Council of Norway
University of Tromso
University of Bergen
Regionsenter for barn og unges psykiske helse
Regionalt kunnskapssenter for barn og unge - Nord
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS
University of Stavanger
University of Aarhus
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
A Randomized Controlled Trial, 2-arm study, to investigate the effectiveness of the optimized Back2School intervention compared with Wait List Control (WLC) in improving school attendance in youth aged 9-15 with school attendance problems
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
9 Years to 15 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Participants must be between the ages of 9 and 15 at the time of enrollment. 2. Participants must have less than 80% attendance for the last 12 weeks of school at the time of screening. 3. At least one parent has to talk and understand Norwegian. 4. At least one parent has to be motivated to participate. 5. The school must agree to participate in the intervention
Exclusion criteria
1 The participant has a known diagnosis of autism-spectrum disorder, psychosis, and/or eating disorder. 2\. Participant needs acute psychiatric intervention.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| School attendance | Direct: Avg at Baseline, 2 weeks at end (13 weeks from baseline), 2 weeks at 6 months (37 w from baseline) Delayed: Avg at baseline, 2 weeks before start (13 w from baseline) 2 weeks at end (28 w from baseline), 2 weeks at 6 months (54 w from baseline) | School attendance measured on a daily basis by teacher. |
| General functioning | Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3) | Impact on daily life as measured by the SDQ impact scale |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Quality of life | Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3) | Measures perceived quality of life as reported by parents and child using Kidscreen 10 |
| Change in symptoms of anxiety | Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3) | Measures change in symptoms of anxiety as measured by the SCAS reported by parents and child |
| Change in symptoms of Depression | Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3) | Change in symptoms of depression reported by child and parents using the SMFQ |
Countries
Norway
Contacts
CONTACTJo M Ingul, phd
CONTACTKristin Ytreland, phd
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORJo Magne Ingul, phd
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Outcome results
None listed