1. Impacts of a School‐Wide, Peer‐Led Approach to Sexuality Education: A Matched Comparison Group Design.
- Author
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Rotz, Dana, Goesling, Brian, Manlove, Jennifer, Welti, Kate, and Trenholm, Christopher
- Subjects
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PREVENTION of teenage pregnancy , *COMMUNICATION , *DECISION making , *HEALTH education , *HIGH school students , *HIGH schools , *SEXUAL health , *RESEARCH methodology , *PROBABILITY theory , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *RESEARCH funding , *RISK-taking behavior , *STATISTICAL sampling , *SELF-efficacy , *HUMAN sexuality , *SEX education for teenagers , *STUDENT attitudes , *SUBSTANCE abuse , *SURVEYS , *T-test (Statistics) , *AFFINITY groups , *CASE-control method , *HEALTH literacy , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *CLUSTER sampling , *ADOLESCENCE - Abstract
ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Teen Prevention Education Program (PEP) is a school‐wide, peer‐led comprehensive sexuality education program currently implemented in more than 50 schools across 2 states. Many teen pregnancy prevention researchers and practitioners view peer‐led programs as a promising approach for reducing teen pregnancy and associated sexual risk behaviors. However, prior research on the effectiveness of these programs indicates mixed results. METHODS: We randomly assigned schools to implement Teen PEP immediately (intervention group) or on a delayed schedule (comparison group) and used propensity score matching to improve the comparability of the study groups. We surveyed students at baseline and about 6 months after the program ended. RESULTS: Teen PEP did not significantly impact rates of sexual activity or unprotected sex; however, the program led to improvements in exposure to information about sexual health topics and knowledge of preventing pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted infections. CONCLUSIONS: Teen PEP succeeded in accomplishing some of its most proximal goals, increasing students' access to information and knowledge. However, we found little evidence that the program affects sexual risk‐taking within 6 months of its conclusion. Future research will examine the program's longer‐term impacts on sexual risk behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
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