Adolescent Bereavement Initiative in the Free State, South Africa

NCT02368808 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AID-674-A-12-00002-CWL
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 843
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Coping with Loss is a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a bereavement intervention targeting female adolescents who have experienced the death of someone important in their lives. Adolescents aged 12 and older in the Free State province of South Africa will be invited to participate in an 8-session school-based peer support group focused on coping with loss. Interventions will be implemented by Social Workers from Child Welfare Bloemfontein and Childline Free State (CWBFN \& CLFS) that have provided support services for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the Free State Province since 2013. The study population will be identified through the CWBFN \& CLFS intake process and consist of bereaved female adolescents from up to 11 participating schools. Eligible adolescents will be randomly assigned to receive the intervention in 2015 or wait-listed for enrollment following the study period. Survey data will be collected from adolescents and caregivers before and two months following the completion of the interventions. Data will be analyzed to assess for pre- and post-test differences between the intervention and wait-listed group on key psychosocial outcomes, including measures of grief, resilience, mental health, social support, academic competence and adolescent-caregiver interactions.

Conditions

Grief; Bereavement

Keywords

orphans and vulnerable children; South Africa; peer support group

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Grief Intensity

  Grief intensity, including general grief, intrusive thoughts and prolonged grief, is assessed through adolescent self-report of items from three standardized scales (1) Core Bereavement Items (CBI) five-item grief subscale (Burnett et al, 1997); (2) Intrusive Grief Thoughts Scale (IGTS) (ASU Program for Prevention Research, 1999); and the (3) Inventory of Complicated Grief -Revised for Children (ICG-RC) six-item screening tool (Melhem, Porta, Payne \& Brent, 2013).

  Baseline, 2 months post-intervention

• Change in Mental Health

  Depressive symptomology will be assessed through adolescent self-report of the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) (Weissman 1980, Faulstich 1986). Items assess the frequency of symptoms of depression including feelings of happiness, appetite, self-esteem, energy levels, sleep patterns, etc. Adolescent behaviour is assessed using the Brief Problem Monitor-Parent Form (BPM-P) (Achenbach 2011). BPM-P is a 19-item subset of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) that captures problem behaviour, including internalizing and externalizing behaviour in children ages 6-18. Caregivers report on adolescent behaviour over the past four weeks.

  Baseline, 2 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Change in Caregiver-Adolescent Interactions

  Baseline, 2 months post-intervention

• Change in Social Support

  Baseline, 2 months post-intervention

• Change in Academic Competence

  Baseline, 2 months post-intervention

• Change in Resilience

  Baseline, 2 months post-intervention

Study Arms (2)

Abangane Support Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Bereavement support group for adolescents

Behavioral: Abangane Support Group

Wait List

NO INTERVENTION

Wait-listed adolescents will be able to participate in Abangane at the close of the study.

Interventions

Abangane Support Group BEHAVIORAL

The Abangane support group program consists of 8 sessions for bereaved adolescents with standardized activities and discussion content based the Khululeka Grief Support Program in Cape Town, South Africa. The materials include a resource book that provides training and referral agencies for grief group facilitators as well as exercises and creative activities designed to stimulate group discussions that will help adolescents to deal with loss and grief.

Abangane Support Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Attends one of the participating schools
• English or Sesotho speaker

You may not qualify if:

• Previous participation in CWBFN\&CLFS grief counselling group

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tulane University School of Social Work: lead
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID): collaborator

Related Publications (1)

• Thurman TR, Luckett BG, Nice J, Spyrelis A, Taylor TM. Effect of a bereavement support group on female adolescents' psychological health: a randomised controlled trial in South Africa. Lancet Glob Health. 2017 Jun;5(6):e604-e614. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30146-8. Epub 2017 Apr 24.

  PMID: 28462880 DERIVED

Study Officials

• Tonya R Thurman, MPH, PhD

  Tulane University School of Social Work

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2015
• First Posted: February 23, 2015
• Study Start: January 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2015
• Study Completion: November 1, 2015
• Last Updated: March 13, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-03