TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of an Abstinence-Based Sex Education Program on Middle School Students' Knowledge and Beliefs
AU - Mayfield Arnold, Elizabeth
AU - Smith, Thomas E.
AU - Harrison, Dianne F.
AU - Springer, David W.
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - A statewide evaluation of the Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL) program was conducted to assess its ability to increase adolescents' knowledge and beliefs about pregnancy prevention. ENABL is aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy through abstinence. Using a quasi experimental research methodology, middle school students (N= 1,450) comprised a treatment group (n = 974) and a comparison group (n = 476). Subjects completed a pretest and post-test reflecting knowledge and beliefs about teenage pregnancy. ANCOVA revealed significant differences (F = 8.98, p < .001) on posttest scores between the two groups. The treatment group showed marked improvement from pretest to posttest scores, whereas the comparison group did not. These findings support the claim that the Postponing Sexual Involvement (PSI) curriculum is effective in affecting students' knowledge and beliefs about teenage pregnancy and illuminate the need for social work intervention at a variety of levels to address this multifaceted problem.
AB - A statewide evaluation of the Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL) program was conducted to assess its ability to increase adolescents' knowledge and beliefs about pregnancy prevention. ENABL is aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy through abstinence. Using a quasi experimental research methodology, middle school students (N= 1,450) comprised a treatment group (n = 974) and a comparison group (n = 476). Subjects completed a pretest and post-test reflecting knowledge and beliefs about teenage pregnancy. ANCOVA revealed significant differences (F = 8.98, p < .001) on posttest scores between the two groups. The treatment group showed marked improvement from pretest to posttest scores, whereas the comparison group did not. These findings support the claim that the Postponing Sexual Involvement (PSI) curriculum is effective in affecting students' knowledge and beliefs about teenage pregnancy and illuminate the need for social work intervention at a variety of levels to address this multifaceted problem.
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U2 - 10.1177/104973159900900102
DO - 10.1177/104973159900900102
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0442309367
SN - 1049-7315
VL - 9
SP - 10
EP - 24
JO - Research on Social Work Practice
JF - Research on Social Work Practice
IS - 1
ER -