Youth Mentor-Led Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Youth Suicide Prevention
Boston College
Summary
The goal of this randomized pragmatic clinical trial is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and mechanisms of change of a brief adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A), adapted and task-shifted to lay providers (mentors, youth trusted adults) in youth community centers (YCCs) as an upstream approach to suicide. It focuses on Hispanic adolescents ages 12-17 enrolled in these YCCs. The pragmatic clinical trial will evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of adapted IPT-A delivered by mentors in YCCs and whether adapted IPT-A impacts mechanisms of change (depression symptoms, belongingness, and feeling like a burden to others). The main questions to answer are: * Is adapted IPT-A, when delivered by trained youth mentors, feasible and acceptable in youth community centers? * Does adapted IPT-A change key risk factors (i.e., mechanisms: depressive symptoms, low belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness) associated with suicide ideation? The investigators will compare adolescents randomized to adapted IPT-A (6 sessions) delivered by a trained youth mentor with those receiving usual services at the community center (one individual session focused on active listening). Participants will: 1. Be screened for subthreshold depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire adolescent version (PHQ-A). Adolescent participants will be included if they score between 4 and 9 (mild depression). Participants with a PHQ-A score of 10 or higher (severe depression) will not be eligible and will be referred to a licensed mental health provider for appropriate care. 2. Be randomized to adapted IPT-A or usual care. Adolescent participants in the intervention arm will participate in 6 weekly, adapted IPT-A sessions with a trained youth mentor. Intervention focuses on education, affect identification, and interpersonal skills.
Eligibility
- Age range
- 12–17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Parent consent 2. Adolescent consent 3. Enrolled in youth community centers 4. Self-identified as Hispanic or Latine 5. Between 12 and 17 years old. 6. Scoring threshold for depression (4-9) as indicated in the PHQ-A. 7. No current report of suicide ideation with plan or self-harming behaviors Exclusion Criteria: 1. Not consented to participate in the study 2. Scoring 10 or higher in the PHQ-A, indicating depressive disorder 3. Active suicide ideation (i.e., having thoughts of killing oneself, thinking about how in the past month).
Interventions
- BehavioralAdapted Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A LAZOS)
Adolescents in this intervention will receive 6 weekly sessions of an adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A) delivered by trained youth mentors in youth community centers. The adaptation used a community-participatory research approach to culturally and contextually meet the needs of immigrant-origin inner-city adolescents. The adapted intervention keeps core elements (education, affect identification, and interpersonal skills) and bolsters these skills to target belongingness and burdensomeness, which are factors associated with suicide ideation. Sessions follow a structured, manualized approach. The goal is to reduce depressive symptoms, increase sense of belongingness, and decrease perceived burdensomeness among adolescents with subthreshold depression (score between 4-9 in the PHQ-A).
- OtherUsual Community Center Services
Participants in this arm will continue to receive the standard youth programs and services offered by the youth community centers, including mentoring, academic support, and recreational activities. They will not receive BIPT-A.
Location
- Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, Massachusetts