Expressive Writing and Refugee Youth: A School-Based Intervention for Socio-Emotional Well-Being

Last registered on April 16, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Expressive Writing and Refugee Youth: A School-Based Intervention for Socio-Emotional Well-Being
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013336
Initial registration date
April 16, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 16, 2024, 3:53 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Monash University Malaysia

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Monash University (Malaysia)
PI Affiliation
Monash University (Malaysia)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-01-08
End date
2024-08-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This research aims to understand the impact of non-cognitive interventions on the well-being of refugee youth in refugee schools in Malaysia. The information gathered from the research will evaluate the impact of SEL and expressive writing as an intervention tool to increase youth’s non-cognitive skills which is essential for youths' resilience and involvement in their respective refugee community in Malaysia as well as in their next phase of life be it back to their home country or after resettling in a third country (USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc.).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Joseph, Jeron, Geok May Koh and Grace Lee. 2024. "Expressive Writing and Refugee Youth: A School-Based Intervention for Socio-Emotional Well-Being." AEA RCT Registry. April 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13336-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Every week researcher will send the topic to the teacher message.
For the first session, each student is asked to write their name on the front page of their notebook.

1st Week - Describe any recent (this year) experience with your peers/friends/classmates.
2nd Week - Describe something bothering you.
3rd Week - Write about a dream or goal you have for the future.
4th Week - Write a time when you felt proud of yourself.
5th Week - Write about an important event that happened. How did you feel about it then? And how do you feel about it now?
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2024-04-29
Intervention End Date
2024-06-02

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Non-Cognitive Skills
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
(Self Management Social Awareness, Social perspective Taking, Classroom Effort, Sense of Belonging, Positive Feeling, Negative Feeling, Decision Making)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
1. Academic Grade
2. School Attendance
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
A total of 34 refugee secondary schools in Klang Valley were invited to participate in the project.
12 schools Out of 34 were willing to participate. These 12 schools were given opportunities to send names of teachers to a Socio-emotional learning (SEL) workshop. A total of 41 teachers was randomly chosen and participated in the training.

The baseline survey was given to students of teachers who participated in the training as well as those who were not chosen to participate in the training. This will determine the control and treatment group.
Experimental Design Details
A baseline survey was sent out to schools 9 schools, while 3 schools dropped out of the baseline survey. The baseline survey was given to students of teachers who participated in the training as well as those who were not chosen to participate in the training. This will determine the control and treatment group.
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Classroom
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
30 Classrooms
Sample size: planned number of observations
30 classrooms, 325 Students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
15 Classrooms Control, 15 Classroom Treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC)
IRB Approval Date
2023-12-23
IRB Approval Number
39708

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials