Internet Assisted Career-Oriented Soft-skills Training for Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Conditions (iCareer)

Internet Assisted Career-Oriented Soft-skills Training (iCareer) for Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Conditions: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an internet- assisted Career-Oriented Work-Related Soft-skills Training (iCareer) intervention, infused with cognitive behavioral therapy, targeting individuals ages 16-24 with mental health conditions, to improve employment outcomes. The overall objective is to help transition-age youth (TAY) with psychiatric disabilities achieve optimal employment outcomes as part of successful transition to adulthood. Findings will have implications for enhancing and developing pre-employment services for TAY with psychiatric disabilities.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Mental Health Wellness 1; Occupational Problems; Mental Health Wellness 2
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: iCareer Soft Skills Training for Employment

Detailed Description

The investigators propose to perform an open trial research study directed toward producing new knowledge about the Direct Skills Teaching intervention for employment related interpersonal "soft" skills. Soft skills are generally defined as social, emotional, interpersonal, adaptive, and problem-solving skills (Grugulis et al., 2009). The investigators will examine the feasibility of integrated Direct Skills Training modules in social, emotional, interpersonal, adaptive, and problem-solving skills (Soft Skills at Work (SSW)) on improving employment participation and success among transition age youth and young adults (TAY) with disabilities ages 18-24.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 126
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Weili Lu, PhD; Phone Number: 908-889-2453; Email: luwe1@shp.rutgers.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Janice Oursler, PhD; Phone Number: 908-889-2462; Email: ourslejd@shp.rutgers.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • New Jersey
    • Newark, New Jersey, United States, 07102
      • Recruiting
      • Rutgers Univeristy, Newark- Office of Disability Services
      • Contact: Lorren Whitaker, PhD; Phone Number: 973-353-5375; Email: lorren.whitaker@rutgers.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years to 24 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age between 16 and 24 years
2. Must speak English fluently
3. Receiving Individualized Education Program (IEP)/504 Plan or disability services within the past 24 months with primary disability types of psychiatric disability
4. No hospitalizations or suicide attempts within the past 2 months
5. Willing to provide informed consent (if younger than 18, parental consent) to participate in the study
6. Interested in improving work-related social skills

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Current presence of neurological disease or brain injury
2. Psychiatric instability such as gross psychosis or acute suicidality
3. Current alcohol or substance dependence
4. Hospitalization or suicide attempts in the past 2 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment; Soft Skills Training Intervention via telehealth	Behavioral: iCareer Soft Skills Training for Employment; The telehealth iCareer intervention will be delivered during regular educational or vocational services (i.e., services from the Office of Disability Services (ODS) and/or from the school or college counseling center). Six modules of Soft Skills Training (SST), four group sessions for each module with 60 to 90 min for each session (depending on group size) will be delivered by trained project staff (graduate counseling student assistant or graduate counseling intern) via HIPAA-compliant Zoom videoconferencing. If participants are unable to join by Zoom videoconferencing, telephone (a format widely used in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment delivery and in CBT for depression) will be utilized. Ethical guidelines for providing telehealth over videoconferencing or phone will be followed.
No Intervention: Control; Treatment as Usual (TAU)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Higher Rates of Employment	Participants in iCareer will have higher rates of employment than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by self-report of acquiring a job.	12 months post intervention
Higher Number of Hours Worked	Participants in iCareer will have higher numbers hours worked than particiapants in TAU alone as evidenced by self-report of hours worked.	12 months post intervention
Increased Wages Earned	Participants in iCareer will have higher wages earned than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by self-report of wages earned.	12 months post intervention
Improved Job Related Social Skills	Participants in iCareer will have better job-related social skills than in TAU alone as evidenced by higher scores on the Job Related Social Skills Checklist (Reganick, 1995).	12 months post intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Reduced Depressive Symptoms	Participants in iCareer will report less depression and overall symptoms than participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroeneke et al., 2001)	12 months post intervention
Improved Functional Status	Participants in iCareer will report improved functional status related to their disability than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Sheehan Disability Scale (Sheehan,1983) and lower scores on the BASIS-32 (Eisen et al., 1994).	12 months post intervention
Reduced Mental Illness Stigma	Participants in iCareer will report less stigma related to mental illness than participants in TAU alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Brief Version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-10; Boyd et al., 2014).	12 months post intervention
Increased Work Empowerment	Participants in iCareer will report increased work empowerment compared to participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by higher scores on the Work Related Self-Efficacy Scale (WSS; Waghorn et al., 2005).	12 months post intervention
Increased Job Satisfaction	Participants in iCareer will report increased job satisfaction compared to participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by higher scores on the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale- Short Form (OSES; Schyns & von Collani, 2002).	12 months post intervention
Increased Job Motivation	Participants in iCareer will report increased motivation to get employment compared to participants in TAU services alone as evidenced by lower scores on the Perceived Employment Barriers Survey (PEBS; Hong et al., 2014) and higher scores on the Short Employment Hope Scale (Hong &Choi, 2013).	12 months post intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Weili Lu, PhD, Rutgers University, School of Health Professions

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) Link

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 23, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 16, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 2, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): March 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 14, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 12, 2024
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: employment; transition age youth; mental health conditions
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2022001761; 90IFRE0071 (Other Grant/Funding Number: DHHS: Administration for Community Living)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Secondary use of data may be available to researchers after the completion of the study, provided through de-identified data deposited to the data repository, Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) as part of the grant award agreement required by the funding agency, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The ICPSR will further ensure that the data will in no way contain any identifying information for participants.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Secondary use of data may be available to researchers after the completion of the study, provided through de-identified data deposited to the data repository, Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) as part of the grant award agreement required by the funding agency, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The ICPSR will further ensure that the data will in no way contain any identifying information for participants.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Secondary use of data may be available to researchers after the completion of the study, provided through de-identified data deposited to the data repository, Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) as part of the grant award agreement required by the funding agency, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The ICPSR will further ensure that the data will in no way contain any identifying information for participants.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No