BECOMING A RESPONSIBLE TEEN (BART)

OVERVIEW

Becoming A Responsible Teen (BART) is an HIV-prevention program designed for African American high school students.  The program combines HIV education with behavior skills training.  A 1995 random assignment evaluation compared students assigned to the BART program with students assigned to a control intervention.  This study found that the program was successful not only in decreasing the frequency of sex among sexually-active youth, but also in delaying the onset of sexual activity among youth who entered the program having never had sex before.  Further, students assigned to the BART program reduced unprotected intercourse, increased condom-protected intercourse, were more skilled at communicating about sex, and knew more about HIV/AIDS than students assigned to the control group.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: African American high school students

The BART curriculum consists of eight sessions, 90 to 120 minutes in length.  These sessions provide students with information on HIV/AIDS and train them in relevant behavior skills.  Skills-training topics include correct condom use, sexual assertion, refusal, informational provision, self-management, problem-solving, and risk recognition.  Abstinence is woven throughout the curriculum and is identified as the only sure way to prevent HIV-acquisition.  Program participants are not only expected to leave the program equipped to make sound choices for themselves; they are encouraged to “spread the word” about HIV/AIDS to their friends.  Program activities include games, role-playing, discussions, and video-watching. 

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

St. Lawrence, J.S. et al.  (1995).  Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention to Reduce African American Adolescents’ Risk for HIV Infection.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(2), 221-237.

Evaluated population: In the mid-‘90s, 246 African American adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 were recruited among patients at a health center in a low-income area of Mississippi.  Recruits were primarily female (72%).

Approach: All study participants completed baseline measures assessing their sexual behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge.  They also engaged in simulated role-play assessments designed to evaluate their assertion skill and ability to provide information to peers.

After completing these measures, students were randomly assigned to either an educational program that met one time or an eight-week implementation of the BART curriculum.  The educational program consisted of a single, two-hour class on HIV/AIDS.  This single-session class was designed to be interactive and culturally appropriate, but was not as sexually explicit as BART and did not include behavior skills training.  Group sizes for both interventions ranged from 5 to 15 and all groups were led by two co-facilitators – one male, one female.   

Study participants were reassessed on all measures and again engaged in role-play assessments two months after baseline (upon the completion of the BART intervention).  Participants’ sexual behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge were again assessed 6 and 12 months after this initial follow-up assessment.  91.5% of participants were retained for follow-up assessments.

Results: As measured by performance in role-play assessments, participation in the BART program had a positive impact on adolescents’ ability to skillfully handle coercive situations and to provide information to peers.  Compared with students assigned to the educational intervention, students assigned to the BART program were significantly more successful communicators in post-intervention role-plays.

Students assigned to the BART program had greater knowledge of AIDS upon completion of the intervention.  This difference remained significant through the 12-month follow-up.

At the 12-month follow-up, students assigned to the BART program were engaging in less frequent unprotected vaginal intercourse than students assigned to the educational intervention.  Further, unlike students assigned to the educational intervention, students assigned to the BART program had discontinued engaging in unprotected anal sex altogether at this point.

Among those students who were sexually active during the two months before the study began, 42.5% of students assigned to the education program reported being sexually active at the one-year follow up, whereas only 27.1% of students assigned to the BART program reported being sexually active.  And, among those students who reported never having had sex prior to the commencement of the program, 31.1% of students assigned to the education program had become sexually active, whereas only 11.5% of students assigned to the BART program reported having engaged in any sexual activity.  Thus, the program was successful not only in significantly lowering the rate of sexual activity among sexually active students, it was also successful in deterring the onset of sexual activity for students who were not sexually experienced when they entered the program.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Manual available for purchase at http://pub.etr.org/ProductDetails.aspx?id=270000&prodid=R515

References:

St. Lawrence, J.S. et al.  (1995).  Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention to Reduce African American Adolescents’ Risk for HIV Infection.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(2), 221-237.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 14-18

Program age ranges in the guide: Adolescence, Youth

Program components: Community-Based, School-Based

Measured outcomes: Reproductive Health

Program information last updated on 4/23/07.

© Child Trends 2003