Evaluation of the WiseGuyz Program for Adolescent Boys

NCT03994016 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: REB16-1368
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 437
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a pressing public health problem in North America, and strategies to prevent perpetration are needed. To this end, a substantial body of research demonstrates the importance of applying a gender lens to target root causes of ADV. To date, however, there has been limited research on how to specifically engage boys in ADV prevention. As such, this protocol describes the evaluation of a program called WiseGuyz, a community-facilitated, gender-transformative healthy relationships program for mid-adolescent (\~ages 13-15) male-identified youth. WiseGuyz aims to reduce male-perpetrated ADV, and improve mental and sexual health, by helping participants identify and deconstruct male gender role norms, and explore healthier, more inclusive ways of being a guy in the world. The primary goal of this evaluation is to explore the impact of WiseGuyz on ADV outcomes among mid-adolescent male-identified youth, using a mixed-methods, longitudinal, quasi-experimental design with a matched comparison group.

Conditions

Violence, Gender-Based

Keywords

Adolescent dating violence; Positive mental health; Sexual health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Bystander intervention behaviours for violence prevention

  Change from baseline in positive (e.g., talking to an adult) and negative (e.g., laughing) behaviours among intervention participants as compared to matched controls, as assessed using the Bystander Intervention Behaviors scale (Abebe et al., 2018).

  Cohort 1: up to 12 months; Cohort 2: up to 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Adolescent dating violence perpetration

  Cohort 1: 12 months; Cohort 2: 12 months

• Positive mental health

  Cohort 1: 12 months; Cohort 2: 12 months

• Bullying perpetration

  Cohort 1: 12 months; Cohort 2: 12 months

• Friendship closeness

  Cohort 1: 12 months; Cohort 2: 12 months

• Homophobic name-calling

  Cohort 1: 12 months; Cohort 2: 12 months

Study Arms (2)

WiseGuyz Participant

EXPERIMENTAL

Individuals in this arm will receive the WiseGuyz program in their grade 9 year.

Behavioral: WiseGuyz

Comparison Participant

NO INTERVENTION

Individuals in this arm will not receive any intervention in their grade 9 year, and will be used to create a matched comparison group for individuals in Arm 1 (WiseGuyz Participants).

Interventions

WiseGuyz BEHAVIORAL

The WiseGuyz program was developed by the Centre for Sexuality (Calgary, AB), and aims to reduce male-perpetrated adolescent dating violence, improve mental and sexual health, and support youth to build healthier, more inclusive relationships in their peer groups, schools and communities, by helping participants identify and deconstruct gender role norms. WiseGuyz is offered during instructional time by community-based facilitators from the Centre for Sexuality. WiseGuyz is comprised of 20 sessions across four modules. These sessions typically take the full school year (September-May) to implement.

WiseGuyz Participant

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 16 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Male-identified youth (self-representation).
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• all participants need to be enrolled in the 9th grade in 2019-20, 2021-22 or 2022-23 in order to participate (study length extended due to COVID-19 disruptions in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22).

You may not qualify if:

• individuals who are not male-identified and not in the 9th grade at one of the participating schools in 2019-20, 2021-22 or 2022-23 will not be invited to participate.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Calgary: lead
• Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Calgary

Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Exner-Cortens D, Hurlock D, Wright A, Carter R, Krause, P. Preliminary evaluation of a gender-transformative healthy relationships program for adolescent boys [published online ahead of print January 31, 2019]. Psychol Men Masculin. doi:10.1037/men0000204

  BACKGROUND

• Claussen C. Men engaging boys in healthy masculinity through school-based sexual health education [published online ahead of print August 10, 2018]. Sex Education. doi:10.1080/14681811.2018.1506914

  BACKGROUND

• Claussen C. The WiseGuyz Program: Sexual health education as a pathway to supporting changes in endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies. The Journal of Men's Studies. 25(2): 150-167, 2016.

  BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Information on the WiseGuyz program

Study Officials

• Deinera Exner-Cortens, PhD

  University of Calgary

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: WiseGuyz' integrated and sequential curriculum is comprised of four core modules and 20 sessions per module. Sessions are a mix of targeted education, group discussion, and skills development (e.g., role play). The sequence of the modules is critical as each module builds into the next. The modules are: Module 1: Healthy Relationships (6 sessions) Module 2: Sexual Health (5 sessions) Module 3: Gender, Sexuality and the Media (5 sessions) Module 4: Advocacy and Leadership (4 sessions)

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 10, 2019
• First Posted: June 21, 2019
• Study Start: September 15, 2019
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2024
• Study Completion: June 30, 2024
• Last Updated: December 5, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: Within three years of completion of study

Locations

CA (1)