Project Summary
The Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI) is a promising approach for addressing behavioral problems among at-risk, transitionally-aged youth in low resource settings. The YRI uses a structured, manual curriculum divided into 12 modules, with sequential 90-minute group sessions designed to be delivered by non-specialists. It integrates six empirically-supported practice elements shown to have trans-diagnostic efficacy across symptom dimensions of mental health disorders, ranging from major depressive disorder and anxiety to conduct problems.
The YRI has three phases which are delivered in a sequential fashion: stabilization, integration, and connection. The YRI is designed to be integrated into education or livelihood programs. It was initially delivered in educational settings, and later, integrated into youth employment programs tied to regional economic development in Sierra Leone, the Youth FORWARD (Youth Functioning and Organizational Success for West African Regional Development) project, in which the program was delivered by the German Corporation for International Development (GIZ), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (U19MH109989).
In addition to the RPCA research in Sierra Leone on the YRI, the YRI has been adapted to multiple global cultural contexts including Somali refugees in Kenya, Venezuelan refugees in Colombia, and South Sudanese populations. The RPCA works with global partners to license our intervention with rigor to ensure the adaptability of our research in multiple contexts.
Approach
Implementing group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques tailored to the cultural context of the participants.
Key Findings
- When the YRI was originally implemented in secondary schools in urban Freetown ten years ago, youth who received the YRI showed improvements in mental health, pro-social attitudes, daily functioning, and educational outcomes.聽
- Teachers reported that YRI participants were more likely to persist in school (28.8% vs. 4.7%) and had better attendance and classroom behavior.聽
- The cluster-randomized trial implemented in 2018/2019 demonstrated that youth (ages 18-30) participating in the YRI and the employment promotion program reported better socio-economic and mental health outcomes than counterparts in the EPP-only and in the control group.聽
- Improvements in emotion regulation and reductions in anxiety/depression were found, in addition to increases in self-employment hours.
- The ADAPT-ITT framework facilitated the adaptation of the YRI. Findings suggest that the ADAPT-ITT framework can be feasibly applied to guide the intervention adaptation process in LMICs.