Impact of Preventive Mental Health Programme on Social/Emotional Functioning and Resilience in Children in South Africa

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effectiveness of a mental health prevention and promotion programme delivered to children (ages 8 to 13) living in under-resourced communities in South Africa.

The main question it aims to answer is:

Does the programme increase resilience and improve psychological well-being?

Participants will be asked to attend the programme twice a week after school for a period of six weeks and complete a series of questionnaires.

Researchers will compare children who attended the programme to those who did not to see if the programme resulted in better social/emotional functioning and resilience.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Psychological Well-being Behavior Personal Satisfaction

Age range

8 year–13 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Neighbourgood

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

About this study

Although the well-being of vulnerable South African children is a significant public health concern, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of mental health prevention and promotion interventions in low- and middle- income countries. Little Lions Child Coaching is a South African youth-led, community-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to normalise mental health conversations and empower the next generation to tap into their emotional resilience by providing accessible mental health support to children in under-resourced communities surrounding Cape Town.

The aim of this effectiveness study is to measure how a mental health prevention and promotion programme, designed and implemented by Little Lions Child Coaching, impacts the resilience and social/emotional functioning of children (ages 8 to 13) living in townships surrounding Cape Town.

Participants in the intervention condition will receive the programme twice a week after school for a period of six weeks to boost their emotional awareness, confidence, coping skills and resilience. Resilience scores will be compared to a control group.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Between 8 and 13 years old
Fluent in Xhosa and/or English
Lives in one of the following communities in Cape Town, South Africa: Khayelitsha, Langa, or Mfuleni

Exclusion criteria

Younger than 8 years old or older than 13 years old
Do not have a strong understanding of the language of instruction (i.e., Xhosa/English)
Lives in an area outside of Khayelitsha, Langa, or Mfuleni

Treatment and study plan

Mental Health Prevention and Promotion

Behavioral

The Inner Lion Programme is made up of 12 interactive workshops which are based on four key pillars: building confidence by identifying strengths and personal qualities; improving emotional intelligence and self-awareness; establishing adaptive coping strategies and channels of support; and boosting resilience. Professionally created by Child Psychologist Stijn de Leeuw together with an advisory team of psychologists from the Netherlands and South Africa, the programme follows a carefully structured and curated prevention and promotion mental health curriculum with games, crafting activities, psycho-educational stories, dance, movement, and breathing exercises. Workshops are led by local role models (a male-female duo) with lived experience trained to be mental health coaches.

Other names: Inner Lion Programme

Primary outcomes

Mean change from baseline in resilience scores using the Child and Youth Resilience Measure

Time frame: At baseline and in 6 weeks

Higher scores on the Child and Youth Resilience Measure indicate greater resilience. The minimum score is 17 and the maximum score is 51. A t-test will be used to determine whether the control versus intervention group had significantly different mean scores on the Child and Youth Resilience measure after the intervention relative to the baseline assessment.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Little Lions Child Coaching

Other

Collaborators

King's College London
University of Cape Town

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2024
Primary completion: 2024
Study completion: 2025
First posted: Jun 6, 2024
Registry last updated: Oct 15, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Active, Not Recruiting