Teen Incentives Program: Evaluation of a Health Promotion Model for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention

Abstract:
Poor self-perception and external locus of control are considered major determinants of quality of decisions that many adolescents make about their sexual and fertility related risk-taking behavior. A three-phase program was developed to provide freshmen at an inner city high school in New York City with skills to enhance self perception and abilities to exercise greater control in their lives, particularly in terms of their sexual behavior. The effectiveness of the interventions was evaluated based on the classic experimental pre- and post-test design which included an experimental and a control group. Pretesting based on the Nowicki-Strickland Instrument, and the Rosenberg Scales show no differences initially between the control group and the experimental group. Post test results showed a significant decrease in the frequency of sexual activity reported by the experimental condition participants. In addition, contraception use among sexually active subjects in the experimental group increased by more than 50% after treatment. These findings indicate that a skills training intervention that promotes healthy behavior can achieve a significant decrease in sexual activity and an effective increase in contraception use among inner city high school students.

Author(s): Bayne Smith, Marcia A.

Publication: Journal of Health Education, Vol. 25, Num. 1, pp. 24-29


Date Published: 1/30/1994

Pages: 6

Location Code: 8358