Youth ViolenceNCT01927523
Improving Life Chances of Disadvantaged Youth: Testing Best-Practice Academic vs. Non-Academic Supports
A study testing BAM and Match in people with Youth Violence and Crime, run by University of Chicago at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the most cost-effective way to improve the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth, by comparing best practice academic supports to best-practice non-academic supports, and learning more about whether investing in both simultaneously has synergistic (more than… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age, men only
- Conditions the study is for
- Youth Violence, Crime, Educational Achievement
- What is being tested?
- BAM and Match
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 5,344 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Aug 2013to Jun 2018
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- Men only
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Lowest-performing Chicago Public School high schools, based on dropout rate, scores on academic rating scale, and where fewer than 10% of students met state standards on the Prairie State Achievement Exam
- School administrators were enthusiastic about the program and agreed to terms and conditions of the experimental design
- Male youth within these schools who are rising 9th and 10th graders in AY (Academic Year) 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Who cannot join
- Youth who have missed >60% of days during AY2012-13 and AY2013-14 (through March), and so would not be expected to show up in school enough during intervention years (AY2013-15) to benefit from school-based programming
- Youth who have failed >75% of classes during AY2012-13 and AY2013-14 (through March)
- Youth who have IEP (Individualized Education Program) designations for autism, speech and language disabilities, "educable mentally handicapped", and traumatic brain injury
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Improving Life Chances of Disadvantaged Youth: Testing Best-Practice Academic vs. Non-Academic Supports Through a Large-Scale Randomized Control Trial in Chicago
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the most cost-effective way to improve the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth, by comparing best practice academic supports to best-practice non-academic supports, and learning more about whether investing in both simultaneously has synergistic (more than additive) effects.
Read the detailed description
Our University of Chicago Crime Lab research team will carry out a 2 x 2 randomized experiment, in which some male youth are randomly assigned to receive what we believe to be best-practice intensive academic supports (high-dosage math tutoring provided by Match Education of Boston), or what we believe to be best-practice non-academic supports, for which we have identified Youth Guidance's Becoming a Man (BAM) program that provides a version of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or to receive both, or neither (control condition).
The University of Chicago Education Lab research team will be carrying out a randomized controlled trial of this promising academic intervention during both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Match Education.
The BAM intervention is a version of CBT adapted to help promote pro-social life outcomes among disadvantaged male youth. BAM includes in-school and after school programming designed to reduce overly-automatic behavior that can lead to problem outcomes, encourage youth to reflect on their decision-making heuristics, or promote meta-cognition (to "think about thinking"). By helping youth learn and practice new ways to manage their emotional responses to difficult situations through stories, role-playing, small group exercises, and homework, the program encourages what psychologists call "cognitive restructuring," designed to generate lasting gains in youths' behaviors. BAM is a program of Youth Guidance (YG), a Chicago-area non-profit that has been serving Chicago children for over 80 years, and currently provides services to thousands of students across more than 70 schools through a partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) that dates back more than four decades. YG will implement the BAM intervention during the 2013-15 academic years in some of the most distressed schools in Chicago's south and west sides.
The Match Tutors program expands on the nationally recognized innovation of high-dosage, in-school-day tutoring developed in the three Match Charter Public Schools in Boston. Tutoring is embedded into the school day as an elective class, as a supplement to the regular classroom math teacher. Every student works with a full-time, professional tutor in addition to their other classes, so that the class offered by Match Tutors will be given for credit, not as a pull-out or after school intervention As a regular part of their school day, students will attend tutoring for 50 minutes a day, 5 days a week. The tutoring course, entitled Mathematics Lab, has been granted credit-bearing status by CPS and will be offered each semester within a school year so that students will earn one elective credit upon completion of the course. Math Lab offers a standards-based curriculum that is individualized to each student's needs with the goal of complementing the work done in math classes - preparing students for city and state math assessments, enabling them to pass math class finals, and helping students build skills and habits of learning that will help them succeed in school and beyond.
- Conditions
- Youth Violence, Crime, Educational Achievement
- Being tested
- BAM, Match
- Keywords
- Youth violence, Crime, Educational achievement
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
BAMBehavioural
BAM (Becoming a Man), a cognitive-behavioral group therapy intervention.
MatchOther
An intensive math tutoring program.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Control group | No intervention | These youth will not receive the non-academic cognitive behavioral programming nor the intensive academic mathematics tutoring. |
| BAM Group Therapy & Match Math Tutoring | Experimental | These youth will receive both the non-academic cognitive behavioral programming and the intensive academic mathematics tutoring. Receives: Behavioral: BAM; Other: Match |
| BAM Group Therapy | Experimental | These youth will receive the non-academic cognitive behavioral programming. Receives: Behavioral: BAM |
| Match Math Tutoring | Experimental | These youth will receive the intensive academic mathematics tutoring. Receives: Other: Match |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Violent Crime Arrests
Number of violent crime arrests, obtained from Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police administrative databases
Measured: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in other arrests (property, drug, and other)
Number of non-violent crime arrests, including property crimes, drug crimes, and other crimes, obtained from Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police administrative databases
Measured: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in index of CPS schooling outcomes
Index of standardized (in Z-score form) outcomes for school persistence, absences, student misconducts, course grades
Measured: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years
Secondary outcomes (5)
Change in absentee Rate
Number of school absences, obtained from Chicago Public Schools administrative database
Measured: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in Student Misconduct
Number of school misconduct infractions, obtained from Chicago Public Schools administrative database
Measured: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in Total Courses Failed
Number of total school courses failed, obtained from Chicago Public Schools administrative database
Measured: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in School persistence
Measure from CPS student records of school persistence (enrollment or graduation status by end of academic year).
Measured: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years
Change in Math achievement
Performance on math standardized achievement test scores
Measured: 2 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted22 Aug 2013 (estimated)
- Study startAug 2013
- Primary completionJun 2018 (estimated)
- Study completionJun 2018 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Youth ViolenceStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of ChicagoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 5,344 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Chicago
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- MacArthur Foundation, U.S. Department of Justice, Crown Family Philanthropies, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Youth Guidance, Match Education, Chicago Public Schools
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Jens Ludwig, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Chicago
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01927523
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- SBS IRB13-0691
- Other IDs
- IRB13-0691
- Status last verified
- Jul 2017
- First submitted
- 15 Aug 2013
- Last updated
- 11 Jul 2017
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 Jul 2017. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Improving Life Chances of Disadvantaged Youth: Testing Best-Practice Academic vs. Non-Academic Supports Through a Large-Scale Randomized Control Trial in Chicago
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01927523
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SBS IRB13-0691
- Conditions
- Youth Violence, Crime, Educational Achievement
- Keywords
- Youth violence, Crime, Educational achievement
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 5,344 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of ChicagoUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- MacArthur Foundation, U.S. Department of Justice, Crown Family Philanthropies, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Youth Guidance, Match Education, Chicago Public Schools
- Study start
- Aug 2013
- Primary completion
- Jun 2018 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jun 2018 (estimated)
- First posted
- 22 Aug 2013 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the most cost-effective way to improve the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth, by comparing best practice academic supports to best-practice non-academic supports, and learning more about whether investing in both simultaneously has synergistic (more than additive) effects.
Detailed description
Our University of Chicago Crime Lab research team will carry out a 2 x 2 randomized experiment, in which some male youth are randomly assigned to receive what we believe to be best-practice intensive academic supports (high-dosage math tutoring provided by Match Education of Boston), or what we believe to be best-practice non-academic supports, for which we have identified Youth Guidance's Becoming a Man (BAM) program that provides a version of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or to receive both, or neither (control condition).
The University of Chicago Education Lab research team will be carrying out a randomized controlled trial of this promising academic intervention during both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Match Education.
The BAM intervention is a version of CBT adapted to help promote pro-social life outcomes among disadvantaged male youth. BAM includes in-school and after school programming designed to reduce overly-automatic behavior that can lead to problem outcomes, encourage youth to reflect on their decision-making heuristics, or promote meta-cognition (to "think about thinking"). By helping youth learn and practice new ways to manage their emotional responses to difficult situations through stories, role-playing, small group exercises, and homework, the program encourages what psychologists call "cognitive restructuring," designed to generate lasting gains in youths' behaviors. BAM is a program of Youth Guidance (YG), a Chicago-area non-profit that has been serving Chicago children for over 80 years, and currently provides services to thousands of students across more than 70 schools through a partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) that dates back more than four decades. YG will implement the BAM intervention during the 2013-15 academic years in some of the most distressed schools in Chicago's south and west sides.
The Match Tutors program expands on the nationally recognized innovation of high-dosage, in-school-day tutoring developed in the three Match Charter Public Schools in Boston. Tutoring is embedded into the school day as an elective class, as a supplement to the regular classroom math teacher. Every student works with a full-time, professional tutor in addition to their other classes, so that the class offered by Match Tutors will be given for credit, not as a pull-out or after school intervention As a regular part of their school day, students will attend tutoring for 50 minutes a day, 5 days a week. The tutoring course, entitled Mathematics Lab, has been granted credit-bearing status by CPS and will be offered each semester within a school year so that students will earn one elective credit upon completion of the course. Math Lab offers a standards-based curriculum that is individualized to each student's needs with the goal of complementing the work done in math classes - preparing students for city and state math assessments, enabling them to pass math class finals, and helping students build skills and habits of learning that will help them succeed in school and beyond.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Control group | No intervention | –These youth will not receive the non-academic cognitive behavioral programming nor the intensive academic mathematics tutoring. |
| BAM Group Therapy & Match Math Tutoring | Experimental | Behavioral: BAM, Other: MatchThese youth will receive both the non-academic cognitive behavioral programming and the intensive academic mathematics tutoring. |
| BAM Group Therapy | Experimental | Behavioral: BAMThese youth will receive the non-academic cognitive behavioral programming. |
| Match Math Tutoring | Experimental | Other: MatchThese youth will receive the intensive academic mathematics tutoring. |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- Male only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Lowest-performing Chicago Public School high schools, based on dropout rate, scores on academic rating scale, and where fewer than 10% of students met state standards on the Prairie State Achievement Exam
- School administrators were enthusiastic about the program and agreed to terms and conditions of the experimental design
- Male youth within these schools who are rising 9th and 10th graders in AY (Academic Year) 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Youth who have missed >60% of days during AY2012-13 and AY2013-14 (through March), and so would not be expected to show up in school enough during intervention years (AY2013-15) to benefit from school-based programming
- Youth who have failed >75% of classes during AY2012-13 and AY2013-14 (through March)
- Youth who have IEP (Individualized Education Program) designations for autism, speech and language disabilities, "educable mentally handicapped", and traumatic brain injury
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| BAMBAM (Becoming a Man), a cognitive-behavioral group therapy intervention. | Behavioural | BAM Group Therapy, BAM Group Therapy & Match Math Tutoring |
| MatchAn intensive math tutoring program. | Other | BAM Group Therapy & Match Math Tutoring, Match Math Tutoring |
Primary outcome
Change in Violent Crime Arrests
Time frame: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Number of violent crime arrests, obtained from Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police administrative databases
Change in other arrests (property, drug, and other)
Time frame: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Number of non-violent crime arrests, including property crimes, drug crimes, and other crimes, obtained from Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police administrative databases
Change in index of CPS schooling outcomes
Time frame: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years
Index of standardized (in Z-score form) outcomes for school persistence, absences, student misconducts, course grades
5 secondary outcomes
Change in absentee Rate
Time frame: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in Student Misconduct
Time frame: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in Total Courses Failed
Time frame: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year
Change in School persistence
Time frame: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years
Change in Math achievement
Time frame: 2 years
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 Jul 2017.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Jens Ludwig, PhD principal investigator
University of Chicago
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing BAM and Match in people with Youth Violence and Crime, run by University of Chicago at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Jul 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in Violent Crime Arrests (time frame: 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 5-year). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Jul 2017.