Abstract
Abstinence education lessons were designed to address teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) among adolescent youth. A community nonprofit organization with extensive experience in abstinence education trained youth leaders and high school students to collaborate with public school health education teachers. The lessons were based on Promoting Health Among Teens! [PHAT] Abstinence-Only, School Edition (Jemmott, Jemmott, & McCaffree, 2014). Originally developed for use in schools with a high proportion of African Americans, they were adapted for use in schools with a high proportion of Latinos. Over 1000 students from nine middle schools in the northwest part of the United States participated. Responses to pre- and post-intervention survey items were compared and indicated improvements in knowledge of the benefits of sexual abstinence and changes in attitudes toward abstinence. The outcomes of the It’s Legit II: Promoting Health Among Teens! Project indicated that it was implemented well, received well, and had a beneficial effect.
Highlights
IntroductionProject Objectives The project had objectives related to activities and to expected outcomes, including: 1) public school teachers, Northwest Family Services (NWFS) staff, and peer leaders working together to provide the PHAT curriculum for participating middle school students; 2) public school health teachers providing lessons with information on reproductive anatomy, fetal development, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention information; 3) lessons will increase perceptions that abstinence facilitates avoidance of risks for HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancy; 4) lessons related to abstinence will bolster positive attitudes and beliefs regarding abstinence; and 5) lessons will result in stronger intentions to practice abstinence, as measured by a pre- and post-intervention survey
The purpose of this evaluation of a federally funded Competitive Abstinence Education (CAE) program in the United States was to assess a project designed to address teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) among adolescent youth by providing lessons intended to change perceptions and intentions
Jemmott, & Fong (2010: 9-10) conducted the foundational research and reported that “The results indicate that a theory-based abstinence-only intervention reduced self-reported sexual involvement among African American students in grades 6 and 7, a population at high risk of pregnancy and STIs, including HIV
Summary
Project Objectives The project had objectives related to activities and to expected outcomes, including: 1) public school teachers, NWFS staff, and peer leaders working together to provide the PHAT curriculum for participating middle school students; 2) public school health teachers providing lessons with information on reproductive anatomy, fetal development, and STI prevention information; 3) lessons will increase perceptions that abstinence facilitates avoidance of risks for HIV/STI and unplanned pregnancy; 4) lessons related to abstinence will bolster positive attitudes and beliefs regarding abstinence; and 5) lessons will result in stronger intentions to practice abstinence, as measured by a pre- and post-intervention survey
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