ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Family violence can negatively affect youth's psychosocial functioning. Strengths-based interventions may enhance positive youth functioning among youth experiencing adversity, but little is known about the effectiveness of camp-based interventions for youth exposed to family violence. The current study examined the effectiveness of Camp HOPE Tennessee in promoting multidimensional well-being and school engagement among youth exposed to family violence. METHOD: This pilot study employed a nonmasked, parallel randomized controlled design. Participants were 47 children and their caregivers who sought services from a Family Justice Center. Children were 7-12 years old (M = 9.55, SD = 1.63; 79% Black/African American). Using block randomization, caregiver-child dyads were assigned to the camp (n = 23) or waitlist control (n = 24) condition and completed evaluations at baseline, 2-month follow-up, and 5-month follow-up. Children reported on two indicators of positive functioning: multidimensional Quality of Life (i.e., Physical Well-Being, Psychological Well-Being, Autonomy And Parent Relations, Social Support And Peers, And School Environment) and School Engagement. Piecewise latent growth curve models evaluated between-group differences in positive youth functioning at 2- and 5-month follow-up (ClinicalTrials.gov: CampHopeTN). RESULTS: Results suggest that Camp HOPE positively impacted children's psychological well-being (difference = 12.28, SE = 2.84, p < .001, g = 0.94) and autonomy and parent relations (difference = 7.96, SE = 2.95, p = .007, g = 0.77) at 2-month follow-up. Additionally, the camp appeared to have a long-term effect on school engagement at 5-month follow-up (difference = 9.97, SE = 4.83, p = .039, g = 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that camp interventions may enhance positive functioning among youth exposed to family violence. Larger investigations are needed to strengthen the evidence base for Camp HOPE's effectiveness and support further dissemination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: In this study, the effectiveness of a couples-based group intervention to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV), Strength at Home Couples (SAH-C), was examined on a military installation relative to a comparison intervention, Supportive Prevention (SP). It was expected that greater reductions in use of physical, psychological, and sexual IPV behaviors, as well as reduced suicidality, would be found among service members and their partners in SAH-C relative to SP. METHOD: Participants included 138 couples randomized to SAH-C and SP through a clinical controlled trial embedded in a hybrid effectiveness implementation study which took place on a military installation. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales and Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse were used to measure IPV, and 13 Military Suicide Research Consortium common data elements were used to assess suicidality. RESULTS: Service members randomized to SAH-C evidenced greater reductions based on effect sizes across the assessment time points for all IPV variables, including use of overall physical IPV, severe physical IPV, sexual IPV, psychological IPV, and coercive control IPV relative to those randomized to SP. Partners of service members demonstrated a similar general pattern for reductions in use of IPV, but findings were not as robust as for service members. Both service members and partners demonstrated greater reductions in suicidality based on effect sizes when randomized to SAH-C relative to SP. CONCLUSIONS: Findings extend prior work demonstrating the promising effects of SAH-C delivered in the military context and highlight the possible benefits of SAH-C in preventing self-harm thoughts and behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
