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NCT Number: NCT05766280

Internet Assisted Career-Oriented Soft-skills Training for Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Conditions

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an internet- assisted Career-Oriented Work-Related Soft-skills Training (iCareer) intervention, infused with cognitive behavioral therapy, targeting individuals ages 16-24 with mental health conditions, to improve employment outcomes. The overall objective is to help transition-age youth (TAY) with psychiatric disabilities achieve optimal employment outcomes as part of successful transition to adulthood. Findings will have implications for enhancing and developing pre-employment services for TAY with psychiatric disabilities.

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Key information

Conditions

Mental Health Wellness 1 Mental Health Wellness 2 Occupational Problems

Age range

16 year–24 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Rutgers Univeristy, Newark- Office of Disability Services

Newark, New Jersey, 07102, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Lorren Whitaker, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

973-353-5375

About this study

The investigators propose to perform an open trial research study directed toward producing new knowledge about the Direct Skills Teaching intervention for employment related interpersonal "soft" skills. Soft skills are generally defined as social, emotional, interpersonal, adaptive, and problem-solving skills (Grugulis et al., 2009). The investigators will examine the feasibility of integrated Direct Skills Training modules in social, emotional, interpersonal, adaptive, and problem-solving skills (Soft Skills at Work (SSW)) on improving employment participation and success among transition age youth and young adults (TAY) with disabilities ages 18-24.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Age between 16 and 24 years
  • Must speak English fluently
  • Receiving Individualized Education Program (IEP)/504 Plan or disability services within the past 24 months with primary disability types of psychiatric disability
  • No hospitalizations or suicide attempts within the past 2 months
  • Willing to provide informed consent (if younger than 18, parental consent) to participate in the study
  • Interested in improving work-related social skills

Exclusion criteria

  • Current presence of neurological disease or brain injury
  • Psychiatric instability such as gross psychosis or acute suicidality
  • Current alcohol or substance dependence
  • Hospitalization or suicide attempts in the past 2 months

Treatment and study plan

iCareer Soft Skills Training for Employment

Behavioral

The telehealth iCareer intervention will be delivered during regular educational or vocational services (i.e., services from the Office of Disability Services (ODS) and/or from the school or college counseling center). Six modules of Soft Skills Training (SST), four group sessions for each module with 60 to 90 min for each session (depending on group size) will be delivered by trained project staff (graduate counseling student assistant or graduate counseling intern) via HIPAA-compliant Zoom videoconferencing. If participants are unable to join by Zoom videoconferencing, telephone (a format widely used in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment delivery and in CBT for depression) will be utilized. Ethical guidelines for providing telehealth over videoconferencing or phone will be followed.

Primary outcomes

  1. Higher Rates of Employment

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will have higher rates of employment than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by self-report of acquiring a job.

  2. Higher Number of Hours Worked

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will have higher numbers hours worked than particiapants in TAU alone as evidenced by self-report of hours worked.

  3. Increased Wages Earned

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will have higher wages earned than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by self-report of wages earned.

  4. Improved Job Related Social Skills

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will have better job-related social skills than in TAU alone as evidenced by higher scores on the Job Related Social Skills Checklist (Reganick, 1995).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Reduced Depressive Symptoms

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will report less depression and overall symptoms than participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroeneke et al., 2001)

  2. Improved Functional Status

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will report improved functional status related to their disability than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Sheehan Disability Scale (Sheehan,1983) and lower scores on the BASIS-32 (Eisen et al., 1994).

  3. Reduced Mental Illness Stigma

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will report less stigma related to mental illness than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Brief Version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-10; Boyd et al., 2014).

  4. Increased Work Empowerment

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will report increased work empowerment compared to participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by higher scores on the Work Related Self-Efficacy Scale (WSS; Waghorn et al., 2005).

  5. Increased Job Satisfaction

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will report increased job satisfaction compared to participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by higher scores on the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale- Short Form (OSES; Schyns & von Collani, 2002).

  6. Increased Job Motivation

    Time frame: 12 months post intervention

    Participants in iCareer will report increased motivation to get employment compared to participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Perceived Employment Barriers Survey (PEBS; Hong et al., 2014) and higher scores on the Short Employment Hope Scale (Hong &Choi, 2013).

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Janice Oursler, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

908-889-2462

Weili Lu, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

908-889-2453

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Internet Assisted Career-Oriented Soft-skills Training (iCareer) for Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Conditions: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Acronym: iCareer

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Mar 13, 2023
Registry last updated
Nov 14, 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.

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