Innovative Family Prevention With Latino Siblings in Disadvantaged Settings (SIBS)

President and Fellows of Harvard College

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Promotion of Positive Sibling Relationships

Treatments: Behavioral: Control; Behavioral: SIBS Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03706014

SITE18-0185

Details and patient eligibility

About

The current study is a randomized intervention trial that tests the efficacy of a family-focused sibling relationship promotion program. The study includes a treatment group and a contact-equivalent attention control condition with 288 sibling dyads and data collection with target parents, target sibling dyads, and teachers at three time points (pre-test, post-test, and 18-month follow-up). Data will be collected using a three-cohort design with 96 families in each of the three cohorts.

Full description

The proposed project tests the efficacy of a family-focused program. This innovative program is focused on sibling relationships and parenting of siblings as synergistic targets of change to promote positive interpersonal family dynamics and parent and youth psychosocial and behavioral health and well-being. This translational effort builds on strong theoretical and empirical premises including a successful pilot study (ASU SIBS Program). Using a rigorous design and measurement, aims are to: (a) test the efficacy of SIBS, delivered via 12 weekly afterschool sibling sessions and 3 family nights in the familiar elementary school setting, versus a contact-equivalent attention control condition. Mexican-origin sibling dyads (5th graders and younger siblings; N = 288 dyads) and their parents will be recruited from economically disadvantaged elementary schools and randomly assigned within school to intervention or contact-equivalent attention control conditions. Assessments will be conducted at pre-test, post-test, and 18-month follow-up. Program effects will be tested on primary and secondary outcomes, including sibling relationship quality (i.e., warmth and negativity), sibling relationship skills, children's efficacy (social, emotional), children's internalizing symptoms, parents' stress and depressive symptoms, parent-child warmth and conflict, and family cohesion. Findings will advance prevention science by identifying an efficacious program that capitalizes on cultural assets to promote positive family dynamics and psychosocial well-being among Latinos, including by incorporating daily measurements of intervention targets (sibling relationship skills) to identify mechanisms underlying program effects.

Enrollment: 270 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 5+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Target child has to be a 5th grader
• Target child has to be of Latino/Hispanic heritage
• Target child has to have a younger sibling enrolled in the same school in the 1st through 4th grade
• Target child and younger sibling have to be enrolled students in a participating elementary school.

Exclusion criteria

- Enrollment in a self-contained special education setting

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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270 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

SIBS Program

Experimental group

Description:

The program condition includes 12 weekly 90-minute afterschool group sessions for siblings. Sessions are structured as psycho-educational groups and include social interactional activities, role-playing, discussion, and didactic presentation. The focus is on sibling relationship skills, cognitions, and activities. During a total of 3 family nights, parents attend with their children. Part of the family night session involves parents and children together. Another part of the session involves parents being separated from children. Family Nights promote parents' understanding of sibling relationships, review concepts, provide strategies for parental support of siblings, and teach parents skills for dealing with sibling problems. Family Nights include dinner and last 2 hours.

Treatment:

Behavioral: SIBS Program

Contact-Equivalent Attention Control

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

The Contact-Equivalent Attention Control condition includes 12 weekly 90-minute afterschool group sessions for siblings led by two co-leaders. Students work on educational games and activities. Groups begin with an icebreaker and continue with games and projects. This condition also includes 3 family nights, where parents attend with their children. Activities of the Family Nights include children showing their parents the activities they have been engaging in during the sessions. Family Nights include dinner and last 2 hours. Part of the family night session involves parents and children together. Another part of the session involves parents being separated from children; during this part, parents will break out with one group leader, and siblings will work with the other group leader.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control