Black Girls Move is a school-linked daughter/mother physical activity and dietary behavior program, with 9th and 10th grade students. This program is designed to prevent obesity in Black adolescent females and thus aligns with the NIH mission to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. This project is relevant to public health because it holds the potential to reduce population health disparities impacted by structural racism.
Black female adolescents are at increased risk for obesity-related morbidity and mortality as adults compared to non-Hispanic White female adolescents. Interventions to prevent obesity in Black female adolescents that leverage the relationship of the daughter/mother dyad have received limited attention. Studies that do include mothers tend to use theoretical frameworks that do not explicitly build on this important family relationship and have not included mothers' active participation. Additionally, these studies do not include girls over the age of 12. In response, the investigators developed Black Girls Move, a school-based obesity prevention intervention that addresses these limitations in the extant literature. The investigators conducted focus groups with daughter/mother dyads to identify practical, cultural, and age-appropriate strategies for improving physical activity (PA) and dietary behaviors in Black adolescent daughters (grades 9-10, ages 14-17). Black Girls Move consists of 12 weekly group sessions of daughter/mother dyads in which participants set individualized PA and dietary goals. Black Girls Move incorporates content and processes derived from asset-based anti-racist Public Health Critical Race Praxis, Family Systems Theory, and Social Cognitive Theory. Specific aims are to determine the efficacy of Black Girls Move compared to daughters-only comparison condition on change in PA and dietary intake, and the impact of Black Girls Move compared to daughters-only on theoretical mechanisms of change (racial identity, daughter/mother relationship, social cognitions) assessed by self-report measures. The design is a 12-week pre-test/post-test, randomized controlled trial. The investigators will recruit 24 daughter/mother dyads at each of 8 schools for a total sample size of 192 daughter/mother dyads (total 384 participants). Within school, each dyad will be randomized to either Black Girls Move or daughters-only comparison condition (12 per condition). All daughters and all mothers (Black Girls Move daughter/mother dyads and daughters-only comparison condition daughter/mother dyads) complete assessments (e.g., PA, diet, family measures) at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-months post-intervention. The investigators recognize that there are potential validity threats associated with within school student randomization. The investigators will collect data to assess the degree to which these potential threats are pertinent. The long-term goal of this research is to decrease disparities in obesity and associated comorbidities in Black women. The findings may inform future large scale R01 studies of BGM in Black daughter/mother dyads
Goal setting and monitoring. All BGM daughters will self-monitor their progress towards PA goals using a PA device, Fitbit®. Additionally, BGM daughters will self-monitor their progress towards diet goals using a mobile application, Start Simple with My Plate®. Further, all BGM mothers will use Fitbit® and Start Simple with My Plate® for self monitoring, however, mothers' data will not be analyzed for this study. Since the daughter/ mother relationship is critical to achieving behavioral change, BGM mothers will utilize Fitbit® and Start Simple with My Plate® as a mechanism to communicate, problem solve and support daughters' behavioral goals.BGM is situated within the contexts of environmental, cultural, interpersonal, and developmental factors impacted by structural racism. Intentionally engaging mothers and daughters in an asset based program provides a framework for mothers to model responses to structural racism i.e. racial socialization.
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Change from Actigraph GT3X Device at 12 and 24 weeks
Objective measure of daughter and mother daily steps and activity counts. PA levels operationalized as moderate (1500-2600 counts/30 secs) or vigorous (\>2600 count/30 secs). Device worn for one week during waking hours
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from Block Kids 2004 Food Frequency Questionnaire (BKFFQ) at 12 and 24 weeks
A 72-item self-report measure of daughter dietary behavior over the past week. Participants indicate frequency of consumption of food/beverages on a 6-point scale (none to every day).
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from 3-Day Physical Activity Recall at 12 and 24 weeks moderate/vigorous physical activity per week
A 59-item self-report measure of daughter physical activity. Participants recall 59 physical activity activities in the past 3 days. Each day divided into 34, 30-minute blocks from 7 am to midnight. Activities rated as light, moderate, hard, or very hard.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from The Multidimensional Model of Black Identity - Short Form at 12 and 24 weeks
A 27-item self-report measure of daughter and mother racial identity.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from Child Health Behavior Knowledge Scale at 12 and 24 weeks
A 9-item self-report measure of daughter and mother physical activity knowledge related to cardiovascular benefits of exercise.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from Diet and Health Knowledge Survey at 12 and 24 weeks
A 42-item self-report measure of daughter and mother diet knowledge.
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Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
120
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from Physical Activity and Nutrition Self-Efficacy Scale at 12 and 24 weeks
An 11-item self-report measure of daughter self-efficacy for physical activity (3 items) and nutrition (8 items) behaviors.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from Social Support for Physical Activity at 12 and 24 weeks
An 11-item self-report measure of daughter social support for physical activity.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from Social Support Scale at 12 and 24 weeks
A 5-item self-report measure for daughter and mother social support for healthy eating.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change from Family Assessment Device (FAD) at 12 and 24 weeks
A 53-item self-report measure of daughter and mother perceptions of family systems.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks
Change fron Quality of Mother Interaction at 12 and 24 weeks
A 14-item self-report measure of daughter perceptions of quality of communication with mother
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks