Teen Prevention Programs Teen Prevention of Sex - Research Paper Example

The study involved a randomized sample of 8430 students between the ages of 13 and 15 from 25 schools in Scotland. The students were evenly divided into two groups: control and experimental groups. The experimental group consisted of students who participated in the SHARE program and the control group consisted of students who participated in the sex-education program. The research was built around a conceptual framework reported in the literature. A review of the literature indicates that previous studies report that conventional sex-education programs have functioned to improve the sexual behavior of teens.

However, those studies were based on methodologies involving experimental groups rather than randomized trial samples. Thus this study was intended to use a randomized trial sample as a means of determining whether or not conventional sex-education provided a benefit over and above new programs that were specifically aimed at altering the risky sexual behavior of teens. The research methodology involved participating schools to either implement the SHARE program or to continue with the sex-education program.

The students were administered a self-reporting questionnaire within six months the completion of the programs. A further follow-up questionnaire was conducted two years later. An evaluation was conducted to determine the authenticity of the programs. The evaluation took into account variables such as context, delivery and students’ responses to the programs. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in sexual behavior after the completion of both programs based on the follow-up questionnaire.

Vastly similar numbers of members of both control and experimental groups reported being sexually active by the time the programs were half-way through. Similar numbers also reported using condoms as well as engaged in unprotected sex. However, for students in both groups that had withdrawn from the school, there