Biology, Identity & Opportunity Study

NCT03412162 | Active Not Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 201800033SP0042147
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 400
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

This study will implement an intervention designed to promote ethnic and racial identity development. It is hypothesized that the intervention will have positive effects on ethnic-racial identity development, stress biology (including sleep hours and quality and diurnal cortisol profiles), emotional well-being, executive functioning, and academic outcomes, particularly for minority youth.

Conditions

Stress, Psychological; Stress, Emotional; Stress, Physiological

Keywords

Discrimination; Cortisol; Sleep; Identity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (10)

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Total Score

  The investigators will measure an ethnic and racial identity total score from the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the total score. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels ethnic and racial identity development.

  Within 1 month following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Pride/Affirmation

  The investigators will measure the ERI Pride/Affirmation subscale in the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the Pride/Affirmation subscale. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels of ethnic and racial identity pride/affirmation.

  Within 1 month following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Exploration

  The investigators will measure the ERI Exploration subscale in the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the Exploration subscale. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels of ethnic and racial identity exploration.

  Within 1 month following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Resolution

  The investigators will measure the ERI Resolution subscale in the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the Resolution subscale. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels of ethnic and racial identity resolution.

  Within 1 month following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Centrality

  The investigators will measure the centrality with a modified version of the Centrality subscale from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI; Sellers, Rowley, Chavous, Shelton, \& Smith, 1997). The subscale uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The mean score is computed for the total score. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 7. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate a greater extent to which a person normatively defines her or himself with regard to race. It is a measure of whether race is a core part of an individual's self-concept.

  Within 1 month following the 8 week intervention

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Total Score

  The investigators will measure an ethnic and racial identity total score from the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the total score. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels ethnic and racial identity development.

  Between 9 and 12 months following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Pride/Affirmation

  The investigators will measure the ERI Pride/Affirmation subscale in the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the Pride/Affirmation subscale. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels of ethnic and racial identity pride/affirmation.

  Between 9 and 12 months following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Exploration

  The investigators will measure the ERI Exploration subscale in the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the Exploration subscale. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels of ethnic and racial identity exploration.

  Between 9 and 12 months following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Resolution

  The investigators will measure the ERI Resolution subscale in the Ethnic Identity Scale (Douglass \& Umaña-Taylor, 2015). The measure uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not describe me at all) to 4 (describes me very well). The mean score is computed for the Resolution subscale. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 4. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate higher levels of ethnic and racial identity resolution.

  Between 9 and 12 months following the 8-week intervention.

• Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) development: Centrality

  The investigators will measure the centrality with a modified version of the Centrality subscale from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI; Sellers, Rowley, Chavous, Shelton, \& Smith, 1997). The subscale uses a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The mean score is computed for the total score. Therefore the minimum score is 1, and maximum is 7. Negatively worded items are reverse scored, so that higher scores indicate a greater extent to which a person normatively defines her or himself with regard to race. It is a measure of whether race is a core part of an individual's self-concept.

  Between 9 and 12 months following the 8-week intervention.

Secondary Outcomes (45)

• Student Emotional Well-being: Student Self-Esteem

  Measured within 1 year of completing the 8 week intervention and control curricula.

• Student Emotional Well-being: Symptoms of Depression total score

  Measured within 1 year of completing the 8 week intervention and control curricula.

• Student Emotional Well-being: Symptoms of Depression- Somatic Symptoms

  Measured within 1 year of completing the 8 week intervention and control curricula.

• Student Emotional Well-being: Symptoms of Depression- Negative Affect

  Measured within 1 year of completing the 8 week intervention and control curricula.

• Student Emotional Well-being: Symptoms of Depression- Positive Affect

  Measured within 1 year of completing the 8 week intervention and control curricula.

Study Arms (2)

Ethnic and Racial Identity Promotion

EXPERIMENTAL

Students will participate in 8, 1 hour and 15 minute classroom based intervention sessions at their local high school, during which a facilitator will lead them through a series of lectures, group activities, and individual homework activities designed to promote a positive ethnic and racial identity (positive feelings about ones' ethnic and racial heritage and ethnic and racial group membership).

Behavioral: Ethnic and Racial Identity Promotion

Academic Skills Promotion

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Students in this active comparison group will participate in an 8-week, 1 hour and 15 minute classroom based intervention, during which a facilitator will lead them through a series of lectures, group activities, and individual homework activities designed to provide information regarding college and career planning, and promote college and career planning as well as study skills and strategies. This condition receives the same amount of facilitator time and attention as the Experimental condition.

Behavioral: Academic Skills Promotion

Interventions

Ethnic and Racial Identity Promotion BEHAVIORAL

See arm description

Ethnic and Racial Identity Promotion

Academic Skills Promotion BEHAVIORAL

See arm description

Also known as: Attention Control Condition

Academic Skills Promotion

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Three hundred students will be recruited through announcements and presentations in required, non-tracked 9th grade classes at 3 mid-sized, diverse, suburban high schools, through flyers posted around the school, and through e-mails sent and presentations made to students and parent groups.

You may not qualify if:

• The presence of an endocrine disorder or use of corticosteroid based medications.
• Youth who are unable to read in English will be excluded because materials will solely be available in English.
• The study will not include students who do not provide parental consent.
• The study will not include students who do not provide their own assent
• The study will not include pregnant students in this study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northwestern University: lead
• Harvard University: collaborator

Study Sites (3)

Beacon Academy

Evanston, Illinois, 60201, United States

Location

District 202

Evanston, Illinois, 60201, United States

Location

District 219 Niles Township High Schools

Niles, Illinois, 60077, United States

Location

Related Publications (28)

• Umana-Taylor AJ, Douglass S, Updegraff KA, Marsiglia FF. A Small-Scale Randomized Efficacy Trial of the Identity Project: Promoting Adolescents' Ethnic-Racial Identity Exploration and Resolution. Child Dev. 2018 May;89(3):862-870. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12755. Epub 2017 Mar 21.

  PMID: 28321839 BACKGROUND

• Douglass, S. and A.J. Umaña-Taylor, A brief form of the Ethnic Identity Scale: Development and empirical validation. Identity, 2015. 15(1): p. 48-65.

  BACKGROUND

• Umaña-Taylor, A.J., A. Yazedjian, and M. Bámaca-Gómez, Developing the ethnic identity scale using Eriksonian and social identity perspectives. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 2004. 4(1): p. 9-38.

  BACKGROUND

• Rosenberg, M., Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Book. 1979: Inc.

  BACKGROUND

• Phinney, J.S., The multigroup ethnic identity measure a new scale for use with diverse groups. Journal of adolescent research, 1992. 7: p. 156-176.

  BACKGROUND

• Skinner, E.A., T.A. Kindermann, and C.J. Furrer, A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: Conceptualization and assessment of children's behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 2008.

  BACKGROUND

• Guy, S.C., P.K. Isquith, and G.A. Gioia, BRIEF-SR: Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function--self-report Version: Professional Manual. 2004: Psychological Assessment Resources.

  BACKGROUND

• Radloff, L.S., The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1977. 1: p. 385-401.

  BACKGROUND

• Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4.

  PMID: 2748771 BACKGROUND

• Storfer-Isser A, Lebourgeois MK, Harsh J, Tompsett CJ, Redline S. Psychometric properties of the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale. J Sleep Res. 2013 Dec;22(6):707-16. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12059. Epub 2013 May 18.

  PMID: 23682620 BACKGROUND

• Achenbach TM, Ruffle TM. The Child Behavior Checklist and related forms for assessing behavioral/emotional problems and competencies. Pediatr Rev. 2000 Aug;21(8):265-71. doi: 10.1542/pir.21-8-265. No abstract available.

  PMID: 10922023 BACKGROUND

• Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Child Behavior Checklist/4-18. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.

  BACKGROUND

• Gershon RC, Wagster MV, Hendrie HC, Fox NA, Cook KF, Nowinski CJ. NIH toolbox for assessment of neurological and behavioral function. Neurology. 2013 Mar 12;80(11 Suppl 3):S2-6. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182872e5f.

  PMID: 23479538 BACKGROUND

• Fox NA. Commentary on Zelazo and Bauer (editors), National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB): validation for children between 3 and 15 years. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 2013 Aug;78(4):150-5. doi: 10.1111/mono.12044. No abstract available.

  PMID: 23952209 BACKGROUND

• Guy, S. C., Gioia, G. A., & Isquith, P. K. (2004). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-: Self-report Version. Psychological Assessment Resources.

  BACKGROUND

• Tombaugh TN. Trail Making Test A and B: normative data stratified by age and education. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2004 Mar;19(2):203-14. doi: 10.1016/S0887-6177(03)00039-8.

  PMID: 15010086 BACKGROUND

• Alfaro, E.C., A.J. Umaña-Taylor, and M.Y. Bámaca, The influence of academic support on Latino adolescents' academic motivation. Family Relations, 2006. 55(3): p. 279-291.

  BACKGROUND

• Midgley, C., et al., Manual for the patterns of adaptive learning scales. Ann Arbor, 2000. 1001: p. 48109-1259.

  BACKGROUND

• Plunkett, S.W. and M.Y. Bámaca-Gómez, The relationship between parenting, acculturation, and adolescent academics in Mexican-origin immigrant families in Los Angeles. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2003. 25(2): p. 222-239.

  BACKGROUND

• Umaña-Taylor AJ, Douglass S. Developing an Ethnic-Racial Identity Intervention from a Developmental Perspective: Process, Content, and Implementation of the Identity Project. In Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth 2017 (pp. 437-453). Springer International Publishing.

  BACKGROUND

• Sellers, R. M., Rowley, S. A., Chavous, T. M., Shelton, J. N., & Smith, M. A. (1997). Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity: A preliminary investigation of reliability and constuct validity. Journal of personality and social psychology, 73(4), 805.

  BACKGROUND

• Phinney, J.S., Cantu, C.L., Kurtz, D.A., 1997. Ethnic and American identity as predictors of self-esteem among African American, Latino, and White adolescents. Journal of Youth and adolescence 26, 165-185.

  BACKGROUND

• Umana-Taylor AJ, Updegraff KA. Latino adolescents' mental health: exploring the interrelations among discrimination, ethnic identity, cultural orientation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. J Adolesc. 2007 Aug;30(4):549-67. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.08.002. Epub 2006 Oct 23.

  PMID: 17056105 BACKGROUND

• Hughes ME, Waite LJ, Hawkley LC, Cacioppo JT. A Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys: Results From Two Population-Based Studies. Res Aging. 2004;26(6):655-672. doi: 10.1177/0164027504268574.

  PMID: 18504506 BACKGROUND

• McNeely CA, Nonnemaker JM, Blum RW. Promoting school connectedness: evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. J Sch Health. 2002 Apr;72(4):138-46. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2002.tb06533.x.

  PMID: 12029810 BACKGROUND

• Smalls C. Effects of mothers' racial socialization and relationship quality on African American youth's school engagement: a profile approach. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2010 Oct;16(4):476-84. doi: 10.1037/a0020653.

  PMID: 21058810 BACKGROUND

• Smalls C, Cooper SM. Racial group regard, barrier socialization, and African American adolescents' engagement: patterns and processes by gender. J Adolesc. 2012 Aug;35(4):887-97. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.12.007. Epub 2012 Jan 15.

  PMID: 22248921 BACKGROUND

• Alfaro EC, Umana-Taylor AJ, Gonzales-Backen MA, Bamaca MY, Zeiders KH. Latino adolescents' academic success: the role of discrimination, academic motivation, and gender. J Adolesc. 2009 Aug;32(4):941-62. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.08.007. Epub 2008 Oct 29.

  PMID: 18973937 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress, Psychological

Interventions

Ethnicity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Demography; Population Characteristics

Study Officials

• Emma K Adam, PhD

  Northwestern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Post-doctoral scholar conducting the statistical data analyses will be provided with de-identified data and will not be informed of which condition is which. Rather, they will be provided with a neutral and randomly assigned set of names identifying each condition: Condition 1 and Condition 2.
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Edwina S. Tarry Professor and Associate Vice President for Research

Model Details: Two conditions will be tested: an ethnic-racial identity promotion intervention, and academic skills promotion control condition.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 30, 2017
• First Posted: January 26, 2018
• Study Start: December 16, 2017
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2032
• Last Updated: April 29, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (3)