Evaluation of the Close to Home Program in California

NCT05206994 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 3 other identifiers: 201920SU01CE003711; U01CE003201U01CE003711
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,000
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Investigators propose to rigorously evaluate the Close to Home (C2H) model via a cluster-matched control trial across 18 diverse communities (9 C2H, 9 control) in California via collection and analyses of social network, school-based and social media data. Close to Home is a primary prevention community mobilization model implemented in 10 communities across California that engages community members across multiple sectors and social networks to strengthen community connections and shift social norms regarding sexual violence (SV), but has never been rigorously evaluated. C2H moves beyond criminal justice, lobbying, or school-based curricular approaches, taking a true community-level and community-led approach. This is a five-year project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 3 years with competitive awards for years 4 and 5, and is conducted in partnership with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and ValorUs (formerly CALCASA). The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and CDPH partnership is uniquely poised to conduct the first rigorous evaluation of C2H in California at this time.

Conditions

Sexual Violence; Sexual Assault; Adolescent Behavior

Keywords

Intimate Partner Violence

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Virtual/Online Sexual Harassment - Digital Dating Abuse Scale

  Two item measure sexual harassment victimization and six items measure perpetration online, over text, or through social media. Response options: yes, in the last 12 months; yes, prior to last 12 months; never. Items used are adapted from the Digital Dating Abuse Scale - Reed, L. A., Tolman, R. M., \& Ward, L. M. (2017). Gender matters: Experiences and consequences of digital dating abuse victimization in adolescent dating relationships. Journal of adolescence, 59, 79-89.

  2 years

• In-Person Sexual Harassment & Violence - Sexual Harassment & Violence Scale

  One item measures in-person sexual harassment victimization and three items measure perpetration. Response options: yes, in the last 12 months; yes, prior to last 12 months; never. Items were adapted from Mitchell, K. J., Ybarra, M. L., \& Korchmaros, J. D. (2014). Sexual harassment among adolescents of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Child abuse \& neglect, 38(2), 280-295 and Miller, E., Jones, K. A., Ripper, L., Paglisotti, T., Mulbah, P., \& Abebe, K. Z. (2020). An athletic coach-delivered middle school gender violence prevention program: A cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA pediatrics, 174(3), 241-249.

  2 years

• Dating Violence Victimization- Coaching Boys into Men Modified Dating Violence Victimization/Perpetration Scale

  Two items measure dating violence victimization. Response options: yes, in the last 12 months; yes, prior to last 12 months; never. Items were adapted from Miller, E., Jones, K. A., Ripper, L., Paglisotti, T., Mulbah, P., \& Abebe, K. Z. (2020). An athletic coach-delivered middle school gender violence prevention program: A cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA pediatrics, 174(3), 241-249.

  2 years

• Dating Violence Perpetration- Coaching Boys into Men Modified Dating Violence Victimization/Perpetration Scale

  Four items measure perpetration. Response options: yes, in the last 12 months; yes, prior to last 12 months; never. Items were adapted from Miller, E., Jones, K. A., Ripper, L., Paglisotti, T., Mulbah, P., \& Abebe, K. Z. (2020). An athletic coach-delivered middle school gender violence prevention program: A cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA pediatrics, 174(3), 241-249.

  2 years

• Sexual Violence Victimization/Perpetration - Coaching Boys into Men Modified Perpetration Scale

  One item measures in-person sexual violence victimization and twp items measure perpetration. Response options: yes, in the last 12 months; yes, prior to last 12 months; never. Items were adapted from Miller, E., Jones, K. A., Ripper, L., Paglisotti, T., Mulbah, P., \& Abebe, K. Z. (2020). An athletic coach-delivered middle school gender violence prevention program: A cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA pediatrics, 174(3), 241-249.

  2 years

• LGBTQ+ and Gender Minority Violence- Victimization Scale

  Nine items measure specific forms of sexual violence and harassment victimization experienced by sexual and gender minority youth. Response options: yes, in the last 12 months; yes, prior to last 12 months; never. Items adapted from Peitzmeier SM, Wirtz AL, Humes E. et al. The transgender-specific intimate partner violence scale for research and practice: Validation in a sample of transgender women. Social Science \& Medicine. 2021. 291: 114495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114495 and Scheer J, Woulfe JM, Goodman LA. Psychometric validation of the identity abuse scale among LGBTQ individuals. Community Psychology. 2018.

  2 years

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Social Norms- Sexual Violence Social Norms Scale

  2 years

• Social Norms- Shared Concern about Sexual and Dating Violence Scale

  2 years

• Social Cohesion Scale

  2 years

• Community Connectedness Scale

  2 years

• Sense of Belonging Scale

  2 years

Study Arms (2)

Close to Home Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Sites receiving the intervention arm were determined prior to the initiation of the research. The rape crisis center in each community applied for funding from the California Department of Public Health to implement the Close to Home model in their community and they were accepted via a competitive application process. Close to Home (C2H) is a community mobilization model developed in Boston and adapted for California and is specifically designed to prevent SV by strengthening community social connections and engaging whole communities in dialogue and action to transform social norms.

Behavioral: Close to Home

Control Program

NO INTERVENTION

The control program is the 4-H Youth Development Program, which is implemented across every county in California via the University of California Cooperative Extension. In 4-H programs, kids and teens complete hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture and civic engagement in a positive environment where they receive guidance from adult mentors and are encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles. The model does not use community mobilization and does not address sexual violence. Control communities were selected based on propensity score matching using sociodemographic and community-level variables related to risk for sexual violence. The closest match was recruited first, and a next-best match was used if the first match declined participation.

Interventions

Close to Home BEHAVIORAL

Close to Home (C2H), a community mobilization model developed in Boston and adapted for California, is specifically designed to prevent SV by strengthening community social connections and engaging whole communities in dialogue and action to transform social norms. The C2H model guides communities through four phases: 1) Assess, 2) Talk, 3) Build, and 4) Act. C2H mobilizes diverse groups of people residing in a shared geography and linked by social and political ties to engage in joint actions for SV prevention

Close to Home Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 14 Years - 24 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Must be between 14-24 years old
• Must be enrolled in program with partner organization(s) or have been nominated by a peer enrolled in the partner programs
• Provide informed consent to participate

You may not qualify if:

• Under age 14
• Over age 24

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, San Diego: lead
• California Department of Public Health: collaborator
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Dr. Jay Silverman

San Diego, California, 92093, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Adolescent Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Jay G Silverman, PhD

  Tulane Center on Community-Engaged GBV Research

  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: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Global Public Health

Model Details: Close to Home (C2H) is a primary prevention community mobilization model that engages community members across multiple sectors and social networks to strengthen community connections and shift social norms regarding SV, but has never been rigorously evaluated. C2H moves beyond criminal justice, lobbying, or school-based curricular approaches, taking a true community-level and community-led approach.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 3, 2021
• First Posted: January 25, 2022
• Study Start: October 4, 2021
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2025
• Study Completion: September 30, 2025
• Last Updated: October 3, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)