Long-term Impact of the Fostering Healthy Futures for Preteens Program on Suicide-related Thoughts and Behaviors for Youth in Out-of-home Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• NCJ Number: 309170
• Journal: American Journal of Community Psychology Dated: March 2024
• Author(s): Heather N. Taussig; Anthony FulginitI; Sarah J. Racz; Rhiannon Evans; Colleen Cary Katz
• Date Published: March 2024
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

This study uses a randomized controlled trial to assess the long-term impact of the Fostering Healthy Futures for Preteens Program (FHF-P) on suicide-related thoughts and behaviors for youth in out-of-home care.

Abstract

The findings of this study of the long-term impact of the Fostering Healthy Futures for Preteens program (FHF-P) on suicide-related thoughts and behaviors (STB) for youth in out-of-home care suggest that FHF-P buffers the impact of pre-existing STB on young adult STB for care-experienced youth. Further research is needed to identify mechanisms that may reduce STB in this population. Youth in out-of-home care are at high risk for suicide-related thoughts and behaviors (STB), yet there are no known efficacious interventions that reduce STB for this population. Fostering Healthy Futures for Preteens (FHF-P) is a 9-month community-based mentoring and skills training preventive intervention for children in out-of-home care. A randomized controlled trial enrolled 156 participants aged 9–11 years who were placed in out-of-home care over the prior year. Participants were 48.9% female, 54.1% Hispanic, 30.1% Black, and 27.1% American Indian. Follow-up interviews, conducted 7–12 years postintervention (85.2% retention rate), asked young adult participants, aged 18–22, to self-report lifetime STB as indexed by non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal thoughts, plans, and/or attempts. There was a nonsignificant reduction in the odds of STB for the intervention group at follow-up (OR = 0.74; CI, 0.32, 1.69). However, FHF-P significantly moderated the effect of baseline STB; control youth who reported baseline STB had 10 times the odds of young adult STB (OR = 10.44, CI, 2.28, 47.78), but there was no increase in the odds of adult-reported STB for intervention youth. (Published Abstract Provided)