Programs with Mixed Reviews for Encouraging Use of Contraception: Sexuality Education Programs

Teen Talk is a sexuality education program that is implemented in family planning service agencies and in middle and high schools for males and females aged 13 to 19. Teen Talk has been implemented in seven urban and rural sites in California and Texas. This program aims to enhance knowledge of the consequences of teenage pregnancy, and the goals of the program are to delay the onset of sexual intercourse and improve contraceptive use and consistency. The evaluated program was administered for 8 to 12 hours over a two- to three-week period in lecture and classroom format. Teen Talk has four program components: 1) presenting factual information on reproductive health; 2) group discussions of factual information; 3) group discussions about values, feelings, and emotions around sexuality; and 4) actual decision-making about sexual issues. The Teen Talk program curriculum can be purchased as a PASHA kit for $195.00. An experimental evaluation of Teen Talk one year after the intervention found that males participating in the Teen Talk program were more likely to remain abstinent than control group males. There was no similar effect for females, however, and the program showed no impact on using an effective contraceptive method at first intercourse.


 
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