Draw the Line/Respect the Line

Guide to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth

DRAW THE LINE/RESPECT THE LINE

OVERVIEW

Draw the Line/Respect the Line is a 3-year, school-based program for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders, designed to prevent HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy. In a large-scale study of the program’s effectiveness among California middle-schoolers, ten schools were randomly assigned to implement the Draw the Line/Respect the Line curriculum and nine schools were assigned to a control group. The program was found to have an impact on the sexual behavior of boys, but not girls. Boys from schools that taught the Draw the Line/Respect the Line curriculum were significantly less likely to start having sex than were boys from control schools. Further, boys from Draw the Line/Respect the Line schools had sex less frequently and with fewer partners than did boys from control schools. The program failed to impact condom usage among boys or girls.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Middle school students

The Draw the Line/Respect the Line curriculum consists of 20 lessons. The 6^th grade curriculum includes five lessons that primarily focus on limit-setting and refusal skills in non-sexual situations. The 7^th grade curriculum includes eight lessons that shift the focus on to sexual situations; students learn about the consequences associated with sexual intercourse and are encouraged to set limits regarding sex. Students are also taught intra and interpersonal skills designed to help them maintain limits and respect the limits of others. The 8^th grade curriculum includes seven lessons. These lessons develop students’ practical skills; in them, students learn how to use condoms and practice refusal skills in dating contexts. Lessons are highly interactive and involve a diversity of activities, including small and large-group discussions, paired and small-group skill practices, stories, and individual activities. The program is designed to be appropriate for students of all races/ethnicities.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Coyle, K.K., Kirby, D.B., Marin, B.V., Gomez, C.A., & Gregorich, S.E. (2004). Draw the Line/Respect the Line: A Randomized Trial of a Middle School Intervention to Reduce Sexual Risk Behaviors. American Journal of Public Health, 94(5), 843-851.

Evaluated population: 19 ethnically diverse public middle schools from an urban area of northern California were selected to participate in this study. Out of the 4,164 6^th grade students enrolled at these schools, 2,829 (68%) received parental consent to participate and filled out baseline surveys. 5% of these students were African American, 16% were Asian, 59% were Latino, 17% were White, and 3% were of other ethnicities. Approximately 4% of students reported having had sexual intercourse at baseline.

Approach: All study participants with active parental consent completed a baseline survey during the spring of their 6^th grade year. This survey assessed their past sexual behaviors and their sexual attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge. Ten of the 19 study schools were randomly assigned to receive the Draw the Line/Respect the Line curriculum, while the other nine schools continued implementing their existing sex education curricula. The Draw the Line/Respect the Line curriculum was taught by experienced health educators who received substantial training in the curriculum. Follow-up surveys were administered the spring of study participants’ 6^th grade year, the spring of their 7^th grade year, the spring of their 8^th grade year, and the spring of their 9^th grade year. Retention rates were 91%, 88%, and 64% across the grades.

Results: From 6^th grade through 9^th grade, boys from the Draw the Line/Respect the Line schools were significantly less likely to report having initiated sexual activity than boys from the control schools, and the magnitude of this difference increased with time. The program had no impact on girls in this regard.

At every follow-up, boys from the Draw the Line/Respect the Line schools were significantly less likely to have engaged in sex during the past 12 months than boys from the control schools. Further, at the 8^th grade follow-up, boys from the Draw the Line/Respect the Line schools reported having engaged in sex significantly less frequently and with fewer partners over the past year than boys from control schools. The program had no impact on any of these outcomes for girls.

Both boys and girls from Draw the Line/Respect the Line schools had greater HIV and condom-related knowledge than control students, and this difference remained significant through the 9^th grade follow-up.

The program had no impact on condom use by either gender of students.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Program manual available for purchase at http://pub.etr.org/ProductDetails.aspx?prodid=S028

Program package available for purchase at

http://www.socio.com/srch/summary/pasha/full/passt20.htm

References:

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 11-14

Program age ranges in the guide: Adolescence

Program components: School-Based

Measured outcomes: Reproductive Health

Program information last updated on 4/23/07.