1. Reasons of the Heart
State: Virginia
Study: Weed S., Ericksen I.H., Lewis A., Grant G.E., & Wibberly K.H. (2008). An abstinence program’s impact on cognitive mediators and sexual initiation. American Journal Health Behavior, 32(1):60-73.
Statistically Significant Results: Of the comparison group 16.4% had initiated sexual intercourse after one year. In the program group 9.2% had initiated sexual intercourse, indicating that virgin program students were 46% as likely to initiate sexual intercourse as the virgins in the comparison group after one year.
2. Making A Difference
State: Pennsylvania
Study: Jemmott III, J.B., Jemmott, L.S. & Fong, G.T. (2006). Efficacy of an abstinence intervention over 24 months: a randomized controlled trial with young adolescents. Presentation at XVI International AIDS Conference, Toronto, Canada; Aug. 13-18, 2006.
Statistically Significant Results: At baseline, 23.4% reported ever having sexual intercourse, whereas at 24-month follow-up, 57% reported ever having sexual intercourse. Logistical regression revealed that adolescents who received the abstinence intervention were less likely to report ever having sexual intercourse at 24-month follow-up than were those in the health-control intervention (p=.02), the safer-sex intervention (p=.007), or the comprehensive intervention (p=.05), controlling for baseline behavior, gender, and age.
3. Sex Can Wait
State: Arkansas
Study: Denny, G., & Young, M. (2006). An evaluation of an abstinence-only sex education curriculum: An 18-month follow-up. Journal of School Health, 76 8): 414-422.
Statistically Significant Results: For the upper elementary age group, at 18-month follow-up, the treatment group was less likely to report participation in sexual intercourse in the last month. At the middle school at 18-month follow-up there were significant differences (p<.05) between the treatment group and comparison group with the treatment group less likely to report participation in sexual intercourse ever and in the last month. At the high school level there were statistically significant differences between treatment and comparison groups with students in the Sex Can Wait group less likely to report participation in sexual intercourse, ever and in the last month.
4. Heritage Keepers
State: South Carolina
Study: Weed, S.E., Ericksen I.H., & Birch P.J. (2005). An evaluation of the Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education Program. Evaluating abstinence education programs: Improving implementation and assessing impact. Washington DC: DHHS, Office of Population Affairs and the Administration for Children and Families.
Statistically Significant Results: Of the program students who were virgin at the pretest and who also answered the follow-up sex question, 14.5 percent, had sex between the pre and follow-up. Of the virgin comparison students, 26.5 percent initiated sex between pre and follow-up. The results from the study indicate that program virgins were about one-half as likely
(odds ratio=.539) as comparison group virgins to initiate sex by the 12 month follow-up, after controlling for pretest differences.
5. Best Friends
State: Washington, D.C.
Study: Lerner, R., (2004). Can abstinence work? An analysis of the Best Friends Program. Adolescent and Family Health, 3(4), 185-192.
Statistically Significant Results: Adjusting for the survey year, students’ age, grade, and race and ethnicity, the study reported that Best Friends girls were nearly 6.5 times more likely to abstain from sexual activity than YRBS respondents. They were 2.4 times more likely to abstain from smoking, 8.1 times more likely to abstain from illegal drug use, and 1.9 more likely to abstain from drinking.
6. Choosing the Best
State: Georgia
Study: Weed, S.E., & Ericksen I.H., (2008) What kind of abstinence education works? Comparing outcomes of two approaches. Submitted for publication.
Statistically Significant Results: Of the program students who were virgins at pretest, 11.5% had initiated sex between pretest and follow-up. Of the virgin comparison students, 21.6% initiated sex during the same period. The risk of a CTB participant initiating sexual intercourse was 43% of a non-participant.
7. Not Me, Not Now
State: New York
Study: Doniger, A., Adams, E., Utter, C. & Riley, J. (2001). Impact evaluation of the “Not Me, Not Now: Abstinence oriented, adolescent pregnancy prevention communications program, Monroe County, New York. Journal of Health Communications. 6,45-60.
Statistically Significant Results: The percentage of students who self-reported having intercourse by age 15 dropped by a statistically significant amount, from 46.6% to 31.6%. The adolescent pregnancy rate for Monroe County dropped from 63.4% to 49.5%. By comparison, Monroe’s pregnancy rate was higher for the two surrounding counties at the beginning of the Not Me, Not Now campaign and lower than both counties at the end of the campaign.
8. For Keeps
State: Ohio
Study: Borawski, E.A.,Trapl E.S., Lovegreen, L.D., Colabianchi, N., & Block T. (2005). Effectiveness of abstinence-only intervention in middle school teens. American Journal Health Behavior, 29(5), 423-434.
Statistically Significant Results: Sexually active students who were exposed to the intervention reported fewer episodes of sexual intercourse (P<.05) and fewer partners (P<.01)
9. Worth the Wait
State: Texas
Study: Tanner Jr.,J.F., & Ladd, R.N. (2005). Saturation Abstinence Education: An application of social marketing In Golden A (Ed.) Evaluating Abstinence Education Programs: Improving Implementation and Assessing Impact. Washington DC: Office of Population Affairs and the Administration for Children and Families. Dept of Health and Human Services.
Statistically Significant Results: As in most of the U.S. the incidence of teen pregnancy declined in the study area for the period under study. The decline, though, was singularly dramatic for the county with the longest period of intervention, the pregnancy rate declined from 34.8 to 16.1. The entire program area dropped from 35.1 to 23.8, a decline of nearly one-third. The state by comparison, declined from 36.2 to 28.5, a 21 percent drop. The region (including a number of counties not served by WTW) experienced a decline of 19 percent, from 39.8 to 32.2.
10. Abstinence By Choice
State: Arkansas
Study: Weed, S.E. (2001, October 15). Title V abstinence education programs: Phase I interim evaluation report to Arkansas Department of Health. Salt Lake City: Institute for Research and Evaluation.
Statistically Significant Results: 5.9 percent of eighth grade program girls had initiated sexual activity compared with a 10.2 comparison rate. Among eighth grade boy participants, 15.8 percent had initiated sexual activity, compared with 22.8 percent for comparison rate boys. Program effects in reducing the onset of sexual activity were significant at the 98 percent confidence level.
11. FACTS
State: Oregon
Study: Weed, S.E. (1994). FACTS Project: Year end evaluation report, 1993-1994. Prepared for the Office of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Salt Lake City: Institute for Research and Evaluation.
Statistically Significant Results: The evaluation found the FACTS program to be highly effective in delaying the onset of sexual activity. The twelve month transition rates from virgin to non-virgin status was 10.2% for the program classroom students and 6.25% for the evening program students. The comparable transition rate for the control students was 18.5%.
12. Teen Aid/Sex Respect
State: Utah
Study: Weed, S.E.(1992, December). Predicting and changing sexual activity rates: A comparison of three Title XX programs. Report submitted to the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Salt Lake City: Institute for Research and Evaluation.
Statistically Significant Results: 22 percent of high school students in the program group with “low-to medium-levels of sexual values” had sex for the first time compared with 37 percent of control group teens with the same level of “sexual values”. In addition when high school and junior high school students were examined together, Sex Respect was shown to reduce the rate of transition of sexual activity by 25 percent when compared to a control group. Teen Aid was found to reduce the initiation of sex activity by 17 percent.
13. Stay SMART
State: National
Study: St. Pierre, T.L., Mark, M.M.,Kaltreider, D.L., & Aikin, K.J. (1995) A 27-month evaluation of sexual activity prevention program in Boys and Girls Clubs across the Nation. Family Relations. 44(1): 69-77.
Statistically Significant Results: The study found that two years after the program, youth who had engaged in prior sexual activity and participated in the Stay SMART program exhibited reduced levels of recent sexual activity.
14. Teen Aid Family Life Education Project
State: Washington
Study: Weed, S.E., Prigmore, J., Tenas, R. (1992). The Teen Aid Family Life Education Project: Fifth year evaluation report. Salt Lake City: Institute for Research and Evaluation.
Statistically Significant Results: The Teen Aid program was shown to have a statistically significant effect in reducing the rate of initiation of sexual activity among high risk high school students by more than one-fourth, from 37 percent to 27 percent compared to the control group.
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