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Abstinence Education for Rural Youth: An Evaluation of the Life's Walk Program
Author(s) -
Barnett Jerrold E.,
Hurst Cynthia S.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2003.tb06576.x
Subject(s) - abstinence , psychology , rural area , life style , gerontology , developmental psychology , medicine , applied psychology , psychiatry , pathology
This paper summarizes an evaluation of a school‐based sexuality education program, an abstinence‐only program, taught in public schools to eighth—and 10th‐graders. The program uses infant simulators to provide adolescents with a realistic view of parenting and to encourage them to delay initiation of sexual behavior until marriage. Two evaluations are summarized here. The first evaluation used a pretest‐posttest design. Significant increases in parent‐adolescent communication, knowledge about sexuality, and sexual behavior were found. No changes were found in attitudes toward teen sexual activity. The second evaluation employed a quasi‐experimental design with a treatment group and a comparison group, with testing delayed four months after the program. No group differences were found in attitudes, behavior, or communication. Program effects were found only for knowledge about sexuality.