Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical - ETR Associates

10 ConclusionsKeys to Reducing Sexual RiskBehaviorFocus on the sexual psychosocial factors andimplement a sufficient number of activitiesthat incorporate the principles to address,improve and impact sexual behavior.OverviewTo reduce their high rates of unintended pregnancyand STDs, including HIV, young peoplemust reduce their sexual risk behavior by initiatingsex later, having sex with fewer sexual partners, orusing condoms or other forms of contraception moreconsistently and correctly. Because programs thatare designed to address unintended pregnancy andSTDs cannot directly control the sexual risk behaviorof young adults, they must affect various risk andprotective factors that, in turn, affect young people’sdecision-making and behavior.Logically, if programs correctly focus on the factorsthat have a strong impact on behavior and ifprogram activities markedly change those factors,then the program will have an impact on behavior.However, if programs focus on factors that onlyweakly affect behavior or if program activities failto change the factors sufficiently, then the programsmay not affect behavior. Thus, it is critical thatprograms focus on the important factors affectingbehavior and implement activities that change thosefactors.This book was written to help people design curriculum-basedprograms that effectively address thosefactors. The previous chapters have discussed sevenimportant factors that affect sexual behavior:1. Knowledge about numerous sexual topics2. Perception of risk of undesired sex, pregnancyand STDs3. Attitudes, values and beliefs about sexual behavior,use of condoms and other forms of contraception,pregnancy, childbearing and STDs4. Perception of peer norms about sexual behaviorand use of condoms and contraception5. Self-efficacy and skills to avoid undesired sex orto use condoms or other forms of contraception6. Intentions to avoid undesired sex or to use condomsor other forms of contraception7. Parent-child communication about adolescentsexual behavior, condoms or other forms of contraception,pregnancy, childbearing and STDsThese factors are important because appropriatecurriculum-based activities have the capability ofaddressing and improving them, and each of thesefactors, in turn, has an impact on actual sexualbehavior.Chapter 10 Conclusions 119