Understanding Friendships in Adolescents After Maltreatment
This study, called "B.F.F.s?", aims to understand how friendships affect teenagers aged 13 to 17, especially those who have experienced child maltreatment (abuse or neglect). We want to see if different friendship experiences change the risk for future problems like mental health issues or being victimized again. Participants will come to the University of South Carolina with a parent/caregiver and a best friend. They will complete questionnaires and have their heart rate activity (Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia or RSA) measured. After a mild stress test, some teens will talk with their friend about it, while others will wait alone. We will then look at their mental health (using the Youth Self Report and Child Behavior Checklist) six months later to see how friendships might help or hurt their well-being. This study is currently unclear about its recruitment status and plans to enroll 120 participants.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study where participants are randomly assigned to discuss a stressor with a friend or wait alone. It plans to enroll 120 participants.
- What's involved
- You will attend an initial visit with your primary caregiver and a best friend. During this visit, you will complete questionnaires, have a device record your heart rate, and participate in a stress test.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Your mental health will be assessed again six months after the initial visit.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
Beneficial or Fostering Future Struggles (B.F.F.s)? Characterizing the Role of Friends in the Development of 13- to 17-Year-Old Adolescents
At a glance
Conditions
Where it's being run
1 sites across 1 statesWho to contact
Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.
Do you actually qualify for this trial?
Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.
Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Respiratory sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) activityBaseline
RSA activity, including resting RSA (prior to Trier Social Stress Test \[TSST\] procedure), RSA reactivity (difference between RSA activity during stressor exposure and resting RSA), and RSA recovery (difference between RSA activity during 5 minutes post stressor exposure whether during debriefing with friend or in isolation and RSA activity during stressor exposure).
- Youth Self Report (YSR)6 Month Follow Up from Baseline
YSR, which is completed by the adolescent and assesses the participant's internalizing (e.g., anxious, depressed) and externalizing (e.g., aggression, rule-breaking behavior) symptoms. Scale scores are reported for Internalizing and Externalizing symptoms and higher scores indicate greater symptoms and a worse outcome. Possible raw scores range from 0 to 62 for Internalizing Symptoms and 0 to 60 for Externalizing Symptoms. Raw scores are transformed to standardized T scores normed by age and gender ranging from 26 to 100 for Internalizing and 25 to 100 for Externalizing.
- Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)6 Month Follow-Up from Baseline
CBCL, which is a parallel form to the YSR completed by the caregiver and assesses the participant's internalizing (e.g., anxious, depressed) and externalizing (e.g., aggression, rule-breaking behavior) symptoms. Scale scores are reported for Internalizing and Externalizing symptoms and higher scores indicate greater symptoms and a worse outcome. Possible raw scores range from 0 to 62 for Internalizing Symptoms and 0 to 66 for Externalizing Symptoms. Raw scores are transformed to standardized T scores normed by age and gender ranging from 31 to 100 for Internalizing and 30 to 100 for Externalizing.
- University of California, Los Angeles Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (UCLA PTSD-RI) for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -5th Edition (DSM-5) Total Score6 Month Follow-Up from Baseline
UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for the DSM-5, which is completed by the adolescent participant and their caregiver and provides an overall PTSD symptom based on DSM-5 criteria. Total score ranges from 0 to 80 and higher scores indicating greater symptoms and a worse outcome.
- Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) total score6 Month Follow-Up from Baseline
JVQ, which is completed by the adolescent participant and assesses experiences with five areas of youth victimization (i.e., conventional crime, peer and sibling victimization, maltreated, sexual victimization, and witnessing and indirect victimization) that has occurred within the past six months since the first study visit. A count of total experiences endorsed ranging from 0 to 34 is computed with a higher score indicating more victimization and a worse outcome.