XY-Zone Program Evaluation: A School-Based Dropout Prevention Program for At-Risk Youth

Summary

The objective of this study is to build upon preliminary research and conduct a pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial on a promising culturally-grounded and gender-specific treatment program, the XY-Zone. The central hypothesis underlying this study purports that through receiving the XY-Zone treatment, adolescents will decrease their risk for dropping out of school. This hypothesis is supported by two years of preliminary data investigating the effectiveness of the XY-Zone.

To test the central hypothesis, the following specific aims will be pursued:

1. Identify school dropout risk and protective factors (protective factors defined as: adult support and peer support; risk factors defined as: low school attendance, inability to achieve grade promotion, substance use, delinquency, school disconnectedness, misbehavior, disconnection from healthy peers) directly changed as a result of XY-Zone intervention.
2. Determine the extent to which moderating variables (affective strength, duration in the program, family functioning, interpersonal strength, intrapersonal strength, level achieved in the program, and resiliency) effect change in outcome variables (risk and protective factors).
3. Identify participants' beliefs about the impact of the mechanisms of change (respect, responsibility, relationship, role modeling, and reaching out) on outcome variables (risk and protective factors ) to enrich understanding of quantitative data.

Conditions

• Adolescent Problem Behavior at School
• Risk Behavior
• Truancy; Socialized

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

XY-Zone

The XY-Zone works to empower students to decrease risk factors and increase protective factors through three linear treatment steps. The first step is driven by guiding principles known as the five R's: respect, responsibility, relationship, role modeling, and reaching out. Through these principles, the participant explores healthy psychosocial behaviors and thoughts in a structured 10 session group setting. The leadership step builds upon the guiding principles and employs activities exploring true leadership through 10 sessions. During the leadership step, participants organize and carry out a service learning projects in their community. The third and final step is ambassador. Those in the ambassador step become a mentor to those in step one and are "expected to explore the principles of leadership and the five R's, and determine their personal relevance to their lives as young men" (Allen, 2009, p. i).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ronya and George Kozmetsky (RGK) Foundation

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of Texas at Austin

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Katherine L Montgomery, PhD, MSSW · Washington University in Saint Louis

• David W Springer, PhD · The University of Texas at Austin

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

13 Years

Max Age

20 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-08-31

Primary Completion

2012-05-31

Completion

2012-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations