Impact of Preventive Mental Health Programme on Social/Emotional Functioning and Resilience in Children in South Africa

Little Lions Child Coaching

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Psychological Well-Being

Treatments: Behavioral: Mental Health Prevention and Promotion

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06445777

LLRCT

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effectiveness of a mental health prevention and promotion programme delivered to children (ages 8 to 13) living in under-resourced communities in South Africa.

The main question it aims to answer is:

Does the programme increase resilience and improve psychological well-being?

Participants will be asked to attend the programme twice a week after school for a period of six weeks and complete a series of questionnaires.

Researchers will compare children who attended the programme to those who did not to see if the programme resulted in better social/emotional functioning and resilience.

Full description

Although the well-being of vulnerable South African children is a significant public health concern, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of mental health prevention and promotion interventions in low- and middle- income countries. Little Lions Child Coaching is a South African youth-led, community-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to normalise mental health conversations and empower the next generation to tap into their emotional resilience by providing accessible mental health support to children in under-resourced communities surrounding Cape Town.

The aim of this effectiveness study is to measure how a mental health prevention and promotion programme, designed and implemented by Little Lions Child Coaching, impacts the resilience and social/emotional functioning of children (ages 8 to 13) living in townships surrounding Cape Town.

Participants in the intervention condition will receive the programme twice a week after school for a period of six weeks to boost their emotional awareness, confidence, coping skills and resilience. Resilience scores will be compared to a control group.

Enrollment: 150 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 8 to 13 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Between 8 and 13 years old
• Fluent in Xhosa and/or English
• Lives in one of the following communities in Cape Town, South Africa: Khayelitsha, Langa, or Mfuleni

Exclusion criteria

• Younger than 8 years old or older than 13 years old
• Do not have a strong understanding of the language of instruction (i.e., Xhosa/English)
• Lives in an area outside of Khayelitsha, Langa, or Mfuleni

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

150 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Group

Experimental group

Description:

Behavioural/ psychosocial intervention (i.e., mental health prevention and promotion programme) to boost emotional awareness, confidence, coping skills, and resilience.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mental Health Prevention and Promotion

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants in the control group will receive the intervention at a later stage.