Motherhood in Childhood

change behaviour through the threat of impending
danger or harm (Maddux et al., 1983). Fear
tactics present a risk, identify who is vulnerable
to that risk and urge a particular action, such
as taking steps to prevent an adolescent pregnancy.
Research on fear-based messaging that,
for example, encourages people to stop smoking
or lose weight, shows these campaigns have little
effect when they provide strong fear messages
with no recommended action or when the recommended
action is not easily taken or
is perceived to be ineffective. Such approaches
are also ineffective when there are no acknowledgments
of barriers to action and how they can
be overcome, and no support for recipients so
they believe that they are capable of taking the
action. For these approaches to work, the perceived
efficacy of action must be greater
than the perceived threat.
Content delivery systems are also evolving,
as many programmes launch online curricula
(Haberland and Rogow, 2013). Despite the
current lack of compelling evidence that this
‘‘The way the media puts it
is that everyone should have
sex! Everything is about sex . . .
commercials . . . everything. Of
course, people start living by it
and people get careless.’’
17-year-old girl, Sweden
delivery mechanism offers measurable advantages
in outcomes, the potential for low-cost, global
reach suggests the likelihood of an increasing
number of Internet-based programmes in the
future. Investment in rigorous research to assess
its effects is needed. Meanwhile, some existing
programmes, such as Afluentes in Mexico and
Butterfly in Nigeria, are using computer-based
programmes to provide training or technical
support to teachers.
Life-skills programmes offer another way for
adolescents to acquire information that can help
them prevent a pregnancy. UNICEF (2012)
finds that about 70 countries have nationallevel
life-skills training programmes, which
vary across country and cultural context. In
general, however, life-skills training focuses on
building five core skills: decision-making and
problem-solving; creative thinking and critical
thinking; communication and interpersonal
skills; self-awareness and empathy; and coping
with emotions and stress. Much of the focus of
life-skills training has been on the development
of protective psychological skills, communication
skills and knowledge to avoid risk.
For 10 years starting in 1996, the Life Skills
Programme in Maharashtra, India, included
weekly hour-long sessions, some of which
focused on health, child health and nutrition.
The programme was designed to reach unmarried
girls between the ages of 12 and 18, with
an emphasis on girls who were out of school
and working. It involved parents in programme
development and teachers to lead the classes.
An evaluation showed significant impact: In
the area covered by the programme, the median
age of marriage rose from 16 to 17, and the
control group was four times more likely to
marry before age 18 than the programme group.
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