Evaluating Abstinence-Only and Abstinence-Plus Programs to Prevent HIV Infection, Sexually Transmitted Disease, and Pregnancy Among Middle School Students

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: University of Texas Prevention Research Center

Topics:
School Health

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of two curricula in discouraging behaviors that may lead to HIV infection, sexually transmitted disease, and pregnancy among seventh- and eighth-grade students at 15 inner-city middle schools in Texas. Each of five schools is being randomly assigned to the risk avoidance curriculum (which teaches skills for abstaining from sexual intercourse until marriage), the risk reduction curriculum (which teaches skills for sexual abstinence and condom and contraceptive use), or the comparison group. About 1,500 seventh-grade students are being recruited for this 2-year program. Both interventions, which consist of a classroom curriculum and a CD-ROM, are conducted by trained facilitators. In-class group activities address attitudes, skills, self-efficacy, and norms related to dating and sexual risk-taking behavior. The CD-ROM includes activities that tailor information and skills to a student’s current behavior or intentions regarding sexual activity. Community input is helping to ensure the programs are responsive to local needs and concerns. The study will determine whether the students’ sexual risk-taking behaviors differ by the type of program in which they were involved when compared with those of students in the comparison group.

 

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