Engaging Black youth in depression and suicide prevention treatment within urban schools: study protocol for a randomized controlled pilot.

BACKGROUND: Depression continues to be an ongoing threat to adolescent well-being with Black adolescents being particularly vulnerable to greater burdens of depression as well as lower mental health service utilization. Black adolescents are likely to have untreated depression due to social network influences, varied perceptions of services and providers, or self-stigma associated with experiencing depressive symptoms. Furthermore, if or when treatment is initiated, low engagement and early termination are common. To address this gap, a trial is being conducted to preliminarily test the effectiveness of an engagement intervention targeting Black adolescents with depression in school mental health services in New York City. METHODS: A total of 60 Black middle and high school adolescents displaying depressive symptoms are equally randomized (based on school site) to the treatment arms. Both trial arms deliver Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents (IPT-A), a time-limited, evidence-based treatment for depression. Additionally, one arm pairs IPT-A with a brief, multi-level engagement intervention, the Making Connections Intervention (MCI), involving adolescents, caregivers, and clinicians. Outcomes of interest are group differences in depression and suicide ideation, adolescent and caregiver engagement, and mental health service use. DISCUSSION: This trial will serve as an efficacy assessment of the MCI among a sample of Black adolescent students with depressive symptoms. Clinical and implementation results will be used to inform future research to further test the MCI intervention in a larger sample. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered by ClinicalTrials.gov on May 3, 2019, identifier: NCT03940508.

Mentoring in research-focused doctoral nursing programs and student perceptions of career readiness in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Research-focused doctorate nursing programs are expanding and seek to double the number of doctoral-prepared nurses by 2020. There is little empirical evidence of the contributions of mentoring to doctoral nursing students' readiness for their desired careers. PURPOSE: This study assessed characteristics and practices of nursing PhD students, the mentoring practices of their advisors, and the likelihood of self-reported career readiness. DESIGN: A nationwide descriptive, cross-sectional study of PhD students in the United States was conducted using an electronic survey platform. A sample of 380 PhD students representing 64 schools was surveyed from January to July 2016. METHODS: Descriptive statistics and ordered logistic regression were used to describe the sample and determine likelihood of career readiness by three readiness levels. FINDINGS: Results revealed greater likelihood of career readiness for students that: (1) perceived their proficiency in key scholarly skills as high, (2) were older, (3) worked a larger number of hours per week, (4) had more responsibilities outside of school, (5) had both advising and mentoring support, (6) had a co-advisor, and (7) attended a private university. CONCLUSION: Enrollment targets should be based on a faculty-to-doctoral student ratio that optimizes advising and mentoring and schools should provide mentoring guidelines and training for faculty.

Parents' Executive Functioning and Involvement in Their Child's Education: An Integrated Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Parents' involvement in their children's education is integral to academic success. Several education-based organizations have identified recommendations for how parents can best support their children's learning. However, executive functioning (EF), a high-ordered cognitive skill set, contributes to the extent to which parents can follow through with these recommendations. METHOD: This integrative review of the literature describes how executive function can affect parents' ability to facilitate and actively participate in their child's education and provides strategies for all school staff to strengthen parent-school partnerships when parents have limitations in EF. RESULTS: EF skills are fluid and influenced by several factors, including parental age, sleep, stress, and mood/affect. Despite possible limitations in parental EF, there are strategies school personnel can employ to strengthen partnership with parents to support their children's academic success. CONCLUSIONS: As reforms in education call for increased customization and collaboration with families, parental EF is an important consideration for school personnel. Awareness and understanding of how parents' EF affects children's learning will help schools better support parents in supporting their children's academic success.