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NCT Number: NCT06886204

Youth Participatory Action Research to Prevent Community Violence Among Black Youth

This behavioral intervention study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Youth Empowered Advocating for Health (YEAH) on youth prosocial behavior and aggressive behavior and assess racial identity and future orientation as mediators of prevention effects.

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Key information

Conditions

Community Violence

Age range

12 year–17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

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About this study

Structural determinants of violence such as residential segregation, concentrated poverty, and limited access to education and employment, disproportionately affect Black youth. This group subsequently faces the highest rates of violence exposure and related injuries, with homicide being a leading cause of death. In addition, the consequences of violence exposure include academic decline, psychological issues, and chronic health conditions.

It is important to address the long-lasting effects of structural violence among Black youth including emotional distress and eroding family and community ties. Current violence prevention methods often overlook the impact of structural violence.

The proposed solution is a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) intervention, called Youth Empowered Advocating for Health (YEAH), which aims to empower Black youth and improve their outcomes. The YEAH program, developed over ten years in partnership with youth, focuses on empowering youth to explore topics of concern in their community and generate solutions. This study will evaluate YEAH's effectiveness in reducing community violence in Metro Atlanta, emphasizing community healing and empowerment as well as narrative change as vital strategies for prevention.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Identify their race or ethnicity as Black or African American
  • Speak English
  • Able to understand the project and give full consent to participate if eligible
  • Have a parent or guardian provide consent for them to participate
  • Member of Boys and Girls Clubs or other Youth Serving Organization (YEAH immediate intervention and delayed intervention groups)

Exclusion criteria

  • Non-English speakers

Treatment and study plan

YEAH: Youth Empowered Advocating for Health

Behavioral

The Youth Empowered Advocating for Health (YEAH) program is a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) intervention aimed at addressing community violence by fostering youth and community healing. It combines photovoice and theater arts performances.

In photovoice sessions, Black youth explore structural determinants of community violence through a participatory research process. Guided by trained facilitators, youth learn the method after obtaining parental consent and youth assent. Using the structured SHOWED framework, they analyze and discuss images, generating ideas for social action. During the photovoice sessions, photo assignments will be completed, with discussions recorded, analyzed for themes, and shared for validation.

The final four sessions will integrate these themes into theater arts performances, allowing youth to creatively express insights and experiences, fostering empowerment and social change.

Other names: YEAH

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in prosocial behavior: Multidimensional Well-being Assessment Scale

    Time frame: Baseline, Week 8, Month 3

    Youth prosocial behavior will be measured using a scale developed by Grills et al. (2016) which assesses youth endorsement of behaviors that build connections with others in the past 2 weeks (α=.92). This 12-item scale was developed from items from the Multidimensional Well-being Assessment Scale, and uses a Likert-type scale (1=never; 5=always), with higher mean scores indicating greater likelihood of engaging in behaviors that reflect care and concern for others

  2. Change in aggressive behavior: California Healthy Kids Survey adaptation

    Time frame: Baseline, Week 8, Month 3

    Youth aggressive behavior will be measured using 10 items adapted from the California Healthy Kids Survey. This measure asks participants how often they engaged in behaviors such as yelling at teachers, hitting or punching someone, or teasing another student in the past month (α=.88). These items assess the frequency of behaviors with 5 response categories (0,1,2,3,4+).

  3. Change in community violence exposure: Community Experiences Questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline, Week 8, Month 3

    This will be measured with 14 items (items 12-25) from the Community Experiences Questionnaire assessing exposure to violence by witnessing (CEQ-WIT). This scale asks the respondent to rank the frequency with which they have experienced each item on a 4-point rating scale (1=never, 2=once, 3=a few times, 4=lots of times). Scores are calculated by averaging respondents' ratings for the scale

Secondary outcomes

  1. Racial identity: multidimensional inventory of Black identity-teen (MIBI-T)score

    Time frame: Baseline, Week 8, Month 3

    Racial identity will be measured using the multidimensional inventory of Black identity-teen (MIBI-T), including centrality, private regard, public regard, nationalism, humanism, assimilation, and oppressed minority. The scale includes 21 items on a Likert-type scale (1=really disagree; 5=agree), with higher mean scores indicating more positive racial identity

  2. Future orientation: Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness

    Time frame: Baseline, Month 3

    This will be measured using 4 items selected from the Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness as used by Grills et al. (2016). These items assess participants' orientation toward the future by rating their expectations and aspirations on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1=strongly disagree; 5=strongly agree), with higher scores indicating more positive expectations for the future (α=.84).

Study contacts

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

Briana Woods-Jaeger, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

404-727-8295

Tiffaney Renfro

CONTACT

[email protected]

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Emory University

Other

Collaborators

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Mar 20, 2025
Registry last updated
Aug 26, 2025

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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