The Effects of an Abstinence-Based Sex Education Program on Middle School Students' Knowledge and Beliefs

Elizabeth Mayfield Arnold; Thomas E. Smith; Dianne F. Harrison; David W. Springer

The Effects of an Abstinence-Based Sex Education Program on Middle School Students' Knowledge and Beliefs

Elizabeth Mayfield Arnold, Thomas E. Smith, Dianne F. Harrison, David W. Springer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

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.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	10-24
Number of pages	15
Journal	Research on Social Work Practice
Volume	9
Issue number	1
State	Published - Dec 1 1999
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Sociology and Political Science
Psychology(all)

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Mayfield Arnold, E., Smith, T. E., Harrison, D. F., & Springer, D. W. (1999). The Effects of an Abstinence-Based Sex Education Program on Middle School Students' Knowledge and Beliefs. Research on Social Work Practice, 9(1), 10-24.

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