Confirmatory Efficacy of the Building a Strong Identity and Coping Skills Program for Low-Income Adolescents (BaSICS-2)

NIH R01MH134938
Administered in: College of the Liberal Arts

Abstract:

The Building a Strong Identity and Coping Skills (BaSICS) program is a trauma-informed coping and empowerment intervention for early adolescents exposed to chronic stress that (1) teaches individual and collaborative skills for coping with stress and trauma, (2) develops positive social identity, and (3) culminates in group-based community action. By building supportive relationships with peers, improving active engagement coping, fostering identity development, and empowering youth to action, BaSICS gives adolescents tools with which to address the myriad stressors to which they are exposed.

The current project aims to replicate and extend the findings from the initial efficacy trial of BaSICS where, relative to control group, youth randomized to BaSICS acquired targeted coping and self-regulation skills and demonstrated improved cortisol reactivity and reduced internalizing problems. In this larger, confirmatory efficacy clinical trial (BaSICS-2), we will examine treatment effects on depression, anxiety and suicidality in clinically referred youth from four sites across central Pennsylvania. We aim to also extend prior findings by integrating data across multiple biological stress response systems to further evaluate the potential for BaSICS to re-calibrate dysregulated stress physiology. Enrolling low-income youth from various racial and ethnic groups and from urban and rural areas, the trial will enable examination of potential moderators of BaSICS that can inform future dissemination efforts. This study aims to further NIMH’s Strategic Framework on Youth Mental Health Disparities by improving our understanding of interventions with potential to reduce mental health disparities. Adding to our mental health arsenal a biologically potent, targeted intervention that balances the need for fundamental self-regulation and coping skills with the need for a culturally affirmative strength and resource building approach, could help move the needle on socioeconomic health disparities.