Reducing violence and victimization in at-risk adolescent girls and boys
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN61995733 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN61995733 |
| Protocol serial number | N/A |
| Sponsor | Simon Fraser University (Canada) |
| Funder | Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Canada) (ref: 251560) |
- Submission date
- 22/12/2011
- Registration date
- 27/01/2012
- Last edited
- 30/06/2016
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data
Record updated in last year
Plain English summary of protocol
Not provided at time of registration
Contact information
Dr Marlene Moretti
Scientific
Scientific
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, B.C.
V5A 1S6
Canada
Study information
| Primary study design | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Study design | Single-centre randomized controlled trial |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study type | Participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | Effectiveness of a relational intervention in reducing violence and victimization in at-risk adolescent girls and boys |
| Study objectives | 1. Adolescents whose caregivers participate in the intervention will engage in lower levels of aggressive behaviour and will experience lower levels of victimization at the end of the intervention and at regular follow-up assessmentts compared to youth whose caregivers did not participate in the intervention. 2. Parent-adolescent attachment security will increase from pre- to post-intervention and at regular follow-ups for those who complete the intervention program, compared to parents and adolescents in the no-intervention comparison condition. 3. Puberty onset will moderate intervention outcomes such that reductions in aggression, violence, and victimization will be greatest for girls and boys with earlier puberty. In addition, we predict that intervention outcomes will be even more pronounced for girls with earlier puberty than for boys with earlier puberty. 4. Among adolescents whose parents receive intervention, youth with specific genetic markers will show greater reductions in aggression compared to youth without these genetic markers. Conversely, among adolescents whose parents do not receive intervention, those with particular genetic markers will show greater increases in aggression and compared with youth without them. 5. Changes in parent-adolescent attachment security from pre- to post-intervention will mediate reductions in violence and victimization immediately post-intervention and at regular follow-ups. 6. Gender differences in the attachment processes that underlie intervention outcomes will be explored based on evidence that girls reductions in aggressive and violent behaviour are related to a reduction in attachment anxiety, while boys reductions in aggressive behaviour are related to a reduction in attachment avoidance. 7. Adolescents prior exposure to stress exposure will be associated with blunted cortisol responses at pre-intervention. 8. Normalization of stress reactivity will mediate reductions in aggressive behaviour from pre- to post-intervention and at regular follow-ups. 9. There will be reduced activity in ventral PFC in response to emotional stimuli among youth of parents in the intervention condition, compared to no change in the comparison condition. 10. Reduced activity in ventral PFC will mediate intervention reductions in aggressive behaviour as measured immediately following intervention and at regular follow-ups. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Not provided at time of registration |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | At risk for aggression, violence and poor mental health |
| Intervention | 1. A 10-week attachment-focused intervention program (Connect) for parents or parental surrogates of teens who engage in aggressive, violent, and antisocial behaviour. 2. Following completion of informed consent by parents and assent by youth, parents will complete screening (described below) to determine eligibility. 3. During the screening and enrolment period, participants in the community will be identified and recruited in a multi-stage screening process conducted across three cohorts of youth over three consecutive school years. Primary schools within a large urban area will participate to ensure the required screening sample of N=7,000. Adolescents who self-identify and are identified by parents or alternate caregivers as highly aggressive will be invited to participate in screening. Those who score in the top 40% of the screening measure will be eligible for the Stage 2 screen. The Stage 2 screen will consist of having primary caregivers complete the self-report of the Problem Frequency Behaviour Frequency Scale-Aggression, rating their adolescent. A final risk score will be obtained by standardizing scores on the youth- and parent-report screens within sex, and then combining the two scores. We will invite approximately the top 14-16% of these youth and their families to participate in the RCT phase of the project. During the enrolment period, parents of eligible youth indicating interest in participating will be provided with information about the program and invited to participate. This information will be presented in evening group sessions at local schools, and with individual follow-up sessions as needed. 4. Eligible parent-youth dyads will be randomly assigned to either the intervention, a 10 week manualized parent-teen attachment intervention - Connect, or a no-intervention comparison condition. 5. Parents and youth will complete measures prior to and following treatment, and three sessions afterwards at six-month intervals post-treatment. 6. Each 1 hour intervention session will address an attachment principle that captures key aspects of the parent-teen relationship and common parenting challenges. 7. The objective of the intervention is to enhance skills related to: 7.1. Secure attachment 7.2. Parental sensitivity 7.3. Partnership and mutuality 7.4. Dyadic affect regulation |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
1. The Comprehensive Adolescent-Parent Attachment Inventory Parent Version (CAPAI-P) |
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) |
1. The Parenting Representations Interview |
| Completion date | 31/08/2017 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Patient |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Sex | All |
| Target sample size at registration | 700 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. English speaking 2. Parent-youth dyads of adolescents (community sample) at risk for significantly elevated levels of aggression and violence 3. Available to attend all intervention program components and follow-ups |
| Key exclusion criteria | Imminent risk of suicide will be ineligible and referred for immediate mental health services |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/09/2012 |
| Date of final enrolment | 31/08/2017 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Canada
Study participating centre
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C.
V5A 1S6
Canada
V5A 1S6
Canada
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | |
| IPD sharing plan |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant information sheet | Participant information sheet | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
