Violence Prevention Programs for Aggression

Not currently recruiting at 1 trial location

Overseen By Daniela Robles

Age: Any Age

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina

Disqualifiers: Intellectual disabilities, Limited reading, Foster care

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial compares two programs designed to reduce aggression in middle school students. The first program, PBIS-MH, includes strategies to address racial and ethnic discrimination alongside mental health support. The second program, RED, focuses solely on mental health-enhanced behavioral support. The trial aims to determine which approach more effectively helps students manage aggression. Middle schoolers in the 6th or 7th grade, without intellectual disabilities or very limited reading abilities, may be suitable participants. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity for students to contribute to important research that could improve school environments.

Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that these programs are safe for middle school students?

Research has shown that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs have been thoroughly studied in schools. These programs aim to improve student behavior and create a better school environment. Studies indicate that students and staff generally handle PBIS well, with no significant negative effects reported in past uses, suggesting the programs are safe.

Adding racial/ethnic discrimination interventions (RED) to PBIS is a newer idea. This includes training to reduce bias and stress management techniques for teachers. While specific safety data for this combination is limited, each component has been used successfully in schools, with no major negative events reported for these types of interventions.

Overall, both versions of the program in the trial—PBIS-MH and PBIS-MH + RED—appear safe based on existing studies. The interventions aim to improve mental health and reduce bias, which are positive goals for schools. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the Violence Prevention Programs for Aggression because they incorporate innovative approaches to tackling school-based racial and ethnic discrimination. The Mental Health-Enhanced PBIS + RED treatment uniquely combines Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) with targeted interventions against racial/ethnic discrimination, including unintentional bias training for both school personnel and students. This dual focus aims to address not just aggression, but the underlying biases that can exacerbate it. Additionally, the approach involves using data to identify and solve discipline disparities, potentially leading to fairer school environments. By integrating these elements, the program has the potential to create more inclusive and supportive educational settings.

What evidence suggests that this trial's programs could be effective in reducing aggression?

Research has shown that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports with Mental Health enhancements (PBIS-MH), one of the programs studied in this trial, effectively reduces aggression in schools. When mental health elements are added to PBIS, studies have found a clear drop in aggressive behavior among students. Teachers also notice positive changes in student behavior when PBIS-MH is used properly.

Another program in this trial, the PBIS-MH + RED program, addresses racial and ethnic discrimination. This combined approach aims to reduce bias and improve the overall atmosphere in schools. Evidence suggests that these comprehensive programs not only decrease aggression but also help create a more inclusive and supportive school environment. ^{3 6 7 8 9}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for middle school teachers and their students in 6th and 7th grades at participating schools. Students with intellectual disabilities, very limited reading abilities, or those in foster care are not eligible to participate.

Inclusion Criteria

for teacher participants: teacher at a study school

I am a student in the 6th or 7th grade at a school participating in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

for student participants: intellectual disabilities, very limited reading abilities, or in foster care

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention

Implementation of Mental Health Enhanced Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports with or without racial/ethnic discrimination interventions

2 school years

Ongoing school-based activities

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in aggression and experiences of discrimination

End of each school year

Data collection at fall and spring of each year

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• PBIS-MH
• RED

Trial Overview The study is testing two programs aimed at reducing aggression among middle schoolers: Racial/Ethnic Discrimination Interventions (RED) and a mental health-focused version of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS-MH).

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Mental Health-Enhanced PBIS + RED Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

PBIS-MH+RED involves the components of PBIS-MH integrated with racial/ethnic discrimination interventions (RED) to address multiple forms of school-based racial and ethnic discrimination. 1) Unintentional bias training for school personnel, involving teaching participants to conceptualize prejudice as well as strategies to reduce bias. 2) Unintentional bias training for students that is delivered in a classroom in a developmentally appropriate lesson format. 3) Vulnerable Decision Point process: Leadership teams are trained to reduce disparities in school discipline by a) using disaggregated student discipline data to identify particular settings or practices that are drivers for racial/ethnic disproportionality in a school and b) using iterative problem-solving to address these drivers. 4) Teacher stress reduction training where they are provided with strategies to reduce stress.

Group II: Mental Health-Enhanced PBIS Active Control 1 Intervention

Mental health-enhanced Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS-MH) integrates mental health into the three core elements of PBIS. 1) School-based mental health clinicians are included on leadership teams. 2) Data from teacher and student perceived school climate, as well as universal screening for aggression and mental health difficulties, are used to inform intervention decision-making. 3) Evidence-based mental health prevention and intervention practices are layered into PBIS' three-tiered continuum.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Medical University of South Carolina

Lead Sponsor

Trials

994

Recruited

7,408,000+

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Collaborator

Trials

473

Recruited

1,374,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

The Aban Aya Youth Project's social development classroom curriculum (SDC) effectively limited the growth of violent behaviors among students, regardless of their age, compared to a control group.

The school/family/community (SC) intervention only reduced violence growth in older participants, indicating that interventions may need to engage multiple social systems, especially for highly mobile youth who may not receive consistent exposure to the program.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The impact of age and type of intervention on youth violent behaviors. Jagers, RJ., Morgan-Lopez, AA., Flay, BR.[2021]

Citations

1. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/violence-prevention-programs-for-aggression-bfc38

Violence Prevention Programs for Aggression What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment PBIS-MH, RED for preventing aggression? Research shows that school-based programs can significantly reduce ...

2. pbis.org pbis.org/pbis/studies

Interactive Database of PBIS Research This web tool displays a range of research studies on the effectiveness of PBIS. The filters allow users to identify the most relevant research for various ...

3. ojp.gov ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/302114.pdf

Interconnecting PBIS and School Mental Health to Improve ... Being victimized or otherwise exposed to violence is associated with increases in aggression, delinquency, and other behavior problems1. Further, the negative ...

4. ncbi.ncbi.grantome.com ncbi.ncbi.grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-MH067948-03

MH Outcomes of Pbis Whole School Interventions PBIS is one of the most widely used whole school interventions designed to decrease disruptive and aggressive behavior. Specific aims for this project include:

5. scholarsjunction.msstate.edu scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6947&context=td

The effectiveness of PBIS for students who have Behavior ... The results of the study revealed that teachers believe that when the program is implemented effectively, there is a positive impact on student ...

6. reporter.nih.gov reporter.nih.gov/search/14E9CE024F8FC5D27598B8961CAA4A01A2FFCEB861BF/project-details/10554424

halliday, colleen a The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of integrating these R/E discrimination interventions (RED) into mental health-enhanced Positive Behavioral ...

7. pbis.org pbis.org/resource/is-school-wide-positive-behavior-support-an-evidence-based-practice

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports This brief presents the findings of a systematic literature review exploring how Tier 1 PBIS implementation affects valued educational outcomes.

8. education.virginia.edu education.virginia.edu/documents/bradshaw-catherinecv2024-02-22-revpdf

Catherine P. Bradshaw, Ph.D., M.Ed. The impact of school- wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) on the organizational health of elementary schools. School ...

9. samhsa.gov samhsa.gov/resource/ebp/positive-behavioral-interventions-supports-pbis-practice-guides

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) ... PBIS is a framework involving multi-tiered levels of support for students' needs in order to improve outcomes across the entire school.