Leadership, Engagement, and Youth Action Program With Mindfulness (LEAP)

NCT06227403 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 1UG3AT012530-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 49
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The current study tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a youth intervention designed to provide meaningful leadership opportunities through the acquisition of leadership skills as well as mindfulness practice, LEAP: Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness. The goal of our proposal is to determine whether the Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness (LEAP) curriculum, which was developed with youth, is a feasible and effective intervention for fostering leadership and well-being. We seek to understand whether LEAP can support well-being for youth as a strategy to increase youth mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health.

Conditions

Adolescent Behavior; Mental Health Wellness 1

Keywords

mindfulness; youth leadership; youth wellbeing

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Mental Health Continuum - Short Form

  14-item, 6-point scale that measures emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing through frequency of experiencing each symptom of positive mental health. The scale range is 0-70, higher scores indicate better mental health.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

• Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness, and Happiness (EPOCH) measure of adolescent wellbeing

  20-item, 5-point scale measuring five positive characteristics that support higher levels of wellbeing: Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness, and Happiness. The scale range is 1-5, higher scores indicate better wellbeing.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

• Social Emotional Health Survey: Belief in Self-Domain

  9 item, 4-point measure of core psychological assets, measuring self-efficacy, self-awareness, and persistence. The scale range is 9-36, higher scores indicate better social emotional health.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

  25 item multiple choice questionnaire that measures internalizing and externalizing problems and prosocial behavior (emotional, conduct, hyperactivity-inattention, peer, prosocial). The scale range is 0-40, higher scores indicate worse difficulties.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

• Self-Rated Health

  12 item 5-point survey measuring general health, asking about overall health self-rating, ability to do daily activities, energy levels, and physical and emotional limitations. The scale range is 0-100, higher scores indicate better health.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

• Student Career Construction Inventory

  An 18 item, 4-point scale measuring ability to crystallize vocational self-concepts, explore information gathering about occupations, and preparing to implement that choice. The scale range is 1-5, higher scores indicate better career outcomes.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

• Vocational Skills Self-Efficacy

  A 37 item, 5-point scale that measures vocational competency. The scale range is 1-5, higher scores indicate better vocational skills self-efficacy.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

• Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy Pretest-Posttest

  A 35 item multiple choice questionnaire that measures understanding of tools/mechanics of the internet, research processes, and application to career research. The scale range is 0-29, higher scores indicate better ICT literacy.

  Baseline, 2-3 months

Study Arms (2)

Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness

EXPERIMENTAL

The Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness intervention (LEAP) consists of 14 sessions focused on youth leadership and mindfulness.

Behavioral: Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness

EnvisionIT

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

EnvisionIT is a college and career-readiness program designed for students in grades 6-12. The EnvisionIT program will be delivered over 14 sessions, and focus on skills and career/college readiness.

Behavioral: EnvisionIT

Interventions

Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness BEHAVIORAL

The Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness intervention (LEAP) was designed and co-created with youth to improve youth well-being by enhancing leadership opportunities and by developing mindfulness in day-to-day life. LEAP seeks to foster these improvements in youth as a strategy to increase mental, emotional, and behavioral health. Youth voice is incorporated into the intervention, with facilitators leading the first 7 sessions, and youth leading the remainder.

Leadership, Engagement, and youth Action Program with Mindfulness

EnvisionIT BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this arm will receive 14 sessions of EnvisionIT training, focused on preparing students with essential skills including digital literacy through competency in information technology, financial literacy, English language arts skills, and college and career readiness. All sessions will be delivered by facilitators trained in EnvisionIT.

EnvisionIT

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Adolescents ages 14-18 in grades 9-12 enrolled in collaborating sites, either in Massachusetts or Illinois.

You may not qualify if:

• 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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston University Charles River Campus: lead
• Massachusetts General Hospital: collaborator
• University of Illinois at Chicago: collaborator
• Utah State University: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

University of Illinois Chicago

Chicago, Illinois, 60608, United States

Location

METCO

Boston, Massachusetts, 02119, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Adolescent Behavior

Interventions

Leadership; Mindfulness

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personnel Management; Organization and Administration; Health Services Administration; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Jennifer G Green, PhD

  Boston University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Mario Cruz-Gonzalez, PhD

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Outcomes assessors will be masked to study condition.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

Model Details: Randomized Controlled Trial

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 5, 2024
• First Posted: January 26, 2024
• Study Start: December 15, 2023
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2024
• Study Completion: May 1, 2024
• Last Updated: August 6, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (2)