Recruiting

Native Spirit

Sponsor:

Arizona State University

Code:

NCT06785311

Conditions

Substance Use

Self Esteem

Youth Drinking

Prevention, Suicide

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 12 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Native Spirit After-School Program

Study Details

Brief summary:

The proposed research will used community-based participatory research methods in an urban-based American Indian (AI) community to adapt, implement, and evaluate an after-school program, called Native Spirit (NS), that seeks to improve cultural identity, self-esteem, resilience, and prevent substance use by increasing cultural engagement. Prior research suggests that AI youth that are culturally engaged experience better health outcomes. Additionally, the use of culturally-specific after-school programs has been shown to increase feasibility and sustainability of prevention programs. In order to achieve the goals of this proposed study, the Principal Investigator (PI) will work with local community members and existing tribal partners to implement the 10-session culturally-grounded after-school program and evaluate the program with the following aims:

Specific Aim 3 (R00): Examine the effectiveness of NS (increases exposure to local cultural values and activities), a program that seeks to prevent or decrease substance use by strengthening self-esteem, resilience, and cultural identity with 2 Indigenous communities in Arizona using a wait-list control design with 3 data collection timepoints and participant interviews.

Conditions

Substance Use

Self Esteem

Youth Drinking

Prevention, Suicide

Study ID

NCT06785311

Start date

Jan 9, 2025

Status verified date

Feb, 2026

Completion date

Aug 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 12 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion:

  • English-speaking
  • Currently in grade 7-12 at time of enrollment
  • Member of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) OR member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe (PYT)
  • Engaged in after school programs.

Exclusion:

• Non-American Indians will be excluded from statistical analysis

Study Design

Enrollment

60 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Intervention Group

The intervention group will receive the intervention (Native Spirit after-school program). Each intervention session is based on an Indigenous cultural value and cultural activity/practice that is specific to the community. The intervention is 10, 1.5 hour sessions that occur once/week from January-May 2025.

After the Crossover the Intervention group will engage in "usual programming" August-December 2025.

active comparator: Wait-List Group

The wait-list group will receive control or "usual" programming. Usual programming includes a life skills program that focuses on financial wellness for teens, called "Money Matters" (Usual Practice). Participants will learn valuable financial life skills. Control sessions will be facilitated by the research site partner (after-school program employees) who typically implement their usual programming. Control sessions will be held at the research site. Each control session will last for 60-90 minutes, once a week for 10 weeks taking place from August 2025 - December 2025

After the Crossover the wait-list group will receive the intervention January-March 2026 (Cohort 1) and September-December 2026 (Cohort 2).

Interventions

Native Spirit After-School Program

Native Spirit is a culturally-grounded after-school program that is community-specific. The program is 10-sessions/weeks long and each session is 1.5-2 hours in duration. Each session is guided by a local cultural knowledge holder and is focused on a different cultural value and accompanying cultural practice. Native Spirit aims to promote self-esteem, cultural efficacy, awareness of cultural connectedness, and resilience while preventing and/or slow down the initiation of substance use.

Primary outcome measure

  • Past 30-Day Substance Use [ Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Invervention, 3 months follow-up post-intervention ]
  • Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale [ Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Invervention, 3 months follow-up post-intervention ]
  • Child and Youth Resilience Measure [ Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Invervention, 3 months follow-up post-intervention ]
  • Cultural Efficacy [ Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Invervention, 3 months follow-up post-intervention ]
  • Awareness of Connectedness Scale [ Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Invervention, 3 months follow-up post-intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Amanda Hunter, PhD

(520) 300-1457amanda.urbina@asu.edu

Locations

Way of Life Facility

Recruiting

Scottsdale, Arizona, United States, 85256

Contacts

Tori Paukgana

(480) 362-7914tori.paukgana@srpmic-nsn.gov

More Information

Sponsor

Arizona State University

Last update posted

Feb 17, 2026

Last verified

Feb, 2026

Keywords

  • American Indian
  • Adolescent Health
  • Prevention
  • After-School Programs

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Arizona State University on 2026-02-17.