The Effectiveness of a Dutch Prevention Program on Social-emotional Skills and Juvenile Delinquency in Children

NCT07147738 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 1434.201.001
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 220
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the prevention program Kapot Sterk is effective.

Conditions

At Risk for Criminal Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Self-esteem

  will be measured using an instrument based on items from the Dutch version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), developed for a study with children aged 8-12 years. The instrument contains five items (e.g., "I think positively about myself"), rated on a 3-point scale ranging from 1 (not true) to 3 (definitely true). Higher scores reflect greater self-esteem.

  baseline (T0), immediately after the program ended for the intervention group (or after the waiting period for the control group) (T1), and at 3 months post-program (T2).

• Self-control

  will be measured using five items based on the Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004) (e.g., "I am good at saying no to things that are hard to resist"). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items 3 and 4 will be reverse coded so that higher scores reflect higher self-control.

  baseline (T0), immediately after the program ended for the intervention group (or after the waiting period for the control group) (T1), and at 3 months post-program (T2).

• Peer pressure

  will be measured using ten items based on the Peer Pressure Scale (Sullivan, 2006). The original items have been translated into Dutch and adapted to reflect minor offenses typically committed by juveniles (e.g., "I feel pressure from my friends to steal something from a shop"). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (absolutely never) to 5 (very often). Higher scores indicate greater levels of experienced peer pressure.

  baseline (T0), immediately after the program ended for the intervention group (or after the waiting period for the control group) (T1), and at 3 months post-program (T2).

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Externalizing behavior

  baseline (T0) and at 3 months post-program (T2).

• Perceived social support from parents, friends, and significant others

  baseline (T0), immediately after the program ended for the intervention group (or after the waiting period for the control group) (T1), and at 3 months post-program (T2).

• Knowledge of youth work

  baseline (T0), immediately after the program ended for the intervention group (or after the waiting period for the control group) (T1), and at 3 months post-program (T2).

Other Outcomes (6)

• Demographic, personal, socioeconomic, and family background

  Baseline (T0)

• Parent-child relationship

  baseline (T0) and at 3 months post-program (T2).

• Presence of Deviant peers

  baseline (T0) and at 3 months post-program (T2).

Study Arms (2)

experimental group

EXPERIMENTAL

This group will participate in the program Kapot Sterk.

Behavioral: Kapot Sterk (translate as Incredibly Strong)

control group

NO INTERVENTION

This group will not participate in the program. They will receive the program afterwards, once data collection is finished.

Interventions

Kapot Sterk (translate as Incredibly Strong) BEHAVIORAL

The program consists of five lessons of approximately 60 minutes long, delivered over a period of four to eight weeks. The lessons are facilitated by trained pedagogical staff (e.g., youth workers), while the school's own teachers are always present during the sessions. Lessons include active learning strategies such as role-playing, group discussions, and reflection exercises, often based on realistic and recognizable scenarios. The program focuses on strengthening key social-emotional skills, such as self-esteem, self-control, and resistance to peer pressure.

experimental group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 10 Years - 13 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Participants are 10-13 years old.
• Participants attend school.

You may not qualify if:

• \- Participants are younger than 10 years old or older than 13 years old.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Marit van de Mheen: lead
• Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement: collaborator
• VU University of Amsterdam: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Utrecht University

Utrecht, 3584 CS, Netherlands

Location

Study Officials

• Jessica J Asscher, PhD.

  Utrecht University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD candidate

Model Details: A cluster RCT will be used to determine the effectiveness of the program Incredibly Strong. Within each school, classes will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group, in which the program starts as soon as possible, or to a waitlist control group, which starts after the follow-up period (three months). Randomization to either the experimental or control group will take place using a computerized randomization in a 1:1 ratio. Classes in the waitlist control group receive the program approximately 5 months later, but still within the same school year, allowing all classes to receive the program.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 15, 2025
• First Posted: August 29, 2025
• Study Start: November 20, 2024
• Primary Completion: September 26, 2025
• Study Completion: September 26, 2025
• Last Updated: August 29, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: The data will become available after the completion of the program and data collection.

Locations

NL (1)