Resilience in Reentry: Cognitive-Behavioral Resilience Training for Parolees With Adjustment Challenges

February 3, 2026 updated by: Emily Greene Owens, University of California, Irvine
This pilot study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a brief Cognitive-Behavioral Resiliency treatment to a population of recently released parolees. This study will also give a preliminary indication if the treatment is associated with reliable improvements in adjustment symptoms and well-being for parolees.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

In the proposed pilot study, residents of a reentry facility in Los Angeles, CA will be able to enroll in a course of brief (5-session) Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focused on building resiliency in response to the effects of institutionalization. Those who choose to receive the intervention will be included in the intervention group (target N = 30). Those who choose not to receive the intervention will be given the opportunity to complete assessments at the same intervals as the intervention group (assessment only group; target N = 30). Participants will report their degree of satisfaction with the program and how much they think they benefitted from the program at postintervention. Participants will complete self-report measures of adjustment disorder symptoms, flourishing, meaning and purpose in life, and PTSD symptoms at pretreatment (baseline), posttreatment (5 weeks after baseline), and 2-month follow-up (13 weeks after baseline).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Alyson K Zalta
  • Phone Number: 949-490-2247
  • Email: azalta@uci.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90037
        • Recruiting
        • The Francisco Homes
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years or older
  • Speaks English
  • Been on parole for two years or less.
  • Score of 8.5 or higher (range 4 to 16) on the Adjustment Disorder New Module 4 (ADNM-4) screening tool (Ben-Ezra, et al., 2018).

Exclusion Criteria: None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment
Participants will receive a 5-session CBT intervention
Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focused on building resiliency in response to the effects of institutionalization
Other Names:
  • CBT
No Intervention: Assessment Only
Participants will receive study assessments

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adjustment Disorder New Module 20
Time Frame: From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)
The ADNM-20 is a self-report measure consisting of two parts: a stressor list and an item list. It is a 20-item measure that ranges from 20 to 80. Participants will fill out stressors from their prison term and will then complete the items which are composed of a 4-point Likert scales from "Never" to "Often."
From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)
Flourishing Scale
Time Frame: From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)
The Flourishing Scale is an 8-item self-report measure (with a range of 8 to 56) of the respondent's self-perceived success in important areas such as relationships, self-esteem, purpose, and optimism. The scale provides a single psychological well-being score.
From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)
PROMIS Meaning and Purpose Short Form 8a
Time Frame: From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)
The PROMIS Meaning and Purpose is an 8-item self-report measure with a range of 8 to 40 that assess one's sense of life having purpose and that there are good reasons for living. Higher scores indicate hopefulness, optimism, goal-directedness, and feelings that one's life is worthy.
From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PTSD Checklist 5
Time Frame: From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)
This is an 8-item abbreviated version of the PTSD Checklist 5, a self-report measure which ranges from 0 to 32 that assesses the DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD.
From pretreatment (baseline) to the end of treatment (5 weeks after baseline)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, Irvine

Collaborators

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Investigators

  • Study Director: Emily Owens, University of California, Irvine

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 27, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 4, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 4, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

September 11, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 3, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 7520

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

There is a small sample size and the study participant's are a systemically vulnerable population.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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