Engaging Black Youth in Depression and Suicide Prevention Treatment Within Urban Schools

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Depression, Suicidal Ideation

In brief

Completing evidence-based treatments for depression has been shown to be particularly problematic for Black adolescents. If Black adolescents' depression treatment needs are to be met, the engagement challenges and the factors that lessen the success of treatment in the "real world" must be addressed. The investigators will examine the effectiveness of the Making Connections Intervention (MCI) and investigate key mediators of both engagement and response to treatment for depression. The MCI is a 1-2 session, evidence-based intervention designed to improve engagement, perceived relevance, and treatment satisfaction among depressed, Black adolescents. The study also uses tailored outreach strategies for adolescents and parents by including innovative digital content such as a web page/app along with other digital products. This study will address an important public health issue: How best to connect Black adolescents with depression to treatment in clinically meaningful ways, and how best to deliver evidence-based treatment to them through school-based services.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03940508

Run by

New York University

People needed

29

Starts

2020-01-31

Expected to finish

2023-12-31

Last updated by the study team

2025-09-15

Who can join

Age: 12 and older, up to 20. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Must identify as Black and/or African American
• Must be enrolled in grades 6-12 (except 12th graders in their last semester)
• Must be able to speak English
• Must have received caregiver consent and have assented to participate
• Must meet depression and global functioning levels indicated by a CES-D score ≥16, a Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression (HRSD) Score ≥ 10, and a Global Assessment Scale for Children (C-GAS) score ≤ 65 at baseline
• Students who are currently on a stable dose of anti-depressant medication, but still meet inclusion criteria, can be enrolled in the study.

You may not qualify if…

• Actively suicidal with intent or plan
• Intellectually disabled
• Have a life threatening medical illness
• Have a current primary substance abuse diagnosis in the moderate to severe range, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, any evidence of psychosis, a primary diagnosis of anorexia
• Currently in active treatment for depression (excluding medication) at baseline assessment

Where it is running

• Columbia University — New York, New York, United States
• McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research — New York, New York, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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