Overview
The current study tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a youth intervention designed to provide meaningful leadership opportunities and to address barriers to equity, through the acquisition of civic leadership and development skills as well as mindfulness practice, LEAP-M: Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness.
The goal of our proposal is to determine whether the Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness.(LEAP-M) curriculum, which was developed with youth of color, is a feasible and effective intervention for fostering civic leadership, civic development, and wellbeing. We seek to understand whether LEAP-M can support wellbeing for youth of color as a strategy to combat structural racism at the school- and neighborhood-levels, increase youth mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health and decrease health disparities in youth of color.
Description
The LEAP-M study will determine whether a 14-session program designed to provide leadership and mindfulness skills to youth of color is an effective and feasible intervention. The curriculum consists of 14 two-hour sessions delivered after school. The comparison group will take part in EnvisionIT, a college and career readiness program designed for students in grades 6 through 12. EnvisionIT aims to prepare students with essential transition skills, digital literacy, and college and career readiness. The comparison group will also have 14 two-hour group sessions. Both LEAP-M and EnvisionIT will be delivered by trained facilitators. All participants in LEAP-M and EnvisionIT will be assessed at two time points assessing program outcomes; facilitators will also complete interviews post-intervention and provide feedback on data fidelity and acceptability following each session. This record reports on the UG3 pilot phase and will be amended for a UH3 phase.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
• Adolescents ages 14-18 in grades 9-12 enrolled in collaborating sites, either at
Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) in Boston, MA, or University of
Illinois/Chicago Public School.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Adolescents who are not available to commit to the intervention schedule.
- Adolescents who are not in grades 9-12.
- Parents/guardians with preferred language other than English or Spanish.