Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical - ETR Associates

model, provide evidence regarding how these riskand protective factors affect behavior, provide evidencethat curriculum activities can improve themand describe the theory behind these psychosocialfactors, as well as the instructional principles forshaping curriculum activities to improve them.Learning Objectives:Becoming More SpecificAfter creating a logic model, the next important stepin developing curriculum-based intervention activitiesis creating learning objectives. The elements inlearning objectives are typically more precise thanthose in logic models and therefore further focus theinstruction. If prepared properly, these objectivesshould convey what students will be able to do as aresult of the lesson(s).Box2-2 Criteria for Assessing Logic Models and Their Development 4Criteria for Assessing the Model• Can the selected factors be modified markedly bypotential interventions?Overall• Are all factors that affect behavior and can be• Does the model make sense? Do the goals, behaviors,risk and protective factors and interventionchanged by feasible interventions included?approaches reflect the understanding of the group?Program Components• Are all items in the correct columns?• Can the activities and components in combinationhave a marked impact upon each of the selected• Are all the relationships causal (as opposed to correlational)?factors? Do multiple activities or components addresseach factor?Goals• Is there strong evidence from research or elsewhere• Is the stated goal a priority?that the intervention strategies can improve the• Is it well defined?factors?• Are the populations defined well enough (e.g., by age, • Is it feasible to implement each of the interventionsex, income level, location)?components? Are the necessary organizational• Does your organization have the capacity to addressrequirements in place? Do staff have the neededthis goal?skills? Are there sufficient financial resources? Is therenecessary political or policy support? Is there sufficientBehaviorscommunity support?• Are all the important and relevant behaviors that have• Given the purposes of the model, were the interventioncomponents described in sufficient detail?a marked impact upon the health goal identified andselected? If not, are there good reasons provided forexcluding some of the behaviors?Criteria for Assessing the Development of• Are the behaviors defined precisely?the Model• Do they directly and strongly affect the health goal?• Were people with different views involved in the• Are they measurable?development of the model? Were youth involved inRisk and Protective Factorsthe development of the model? Were people with programexperience involved? Were researchers involved?• Were risk and protective factors in different domainsidentified (e.g., media, community, school, family,• Is a process described for actually using the modelpeer, and individual)? If not, were good reasonsonce it is developed (e.g., using it to create a curriculum,train educators, inform stakeholders or facilitateprovided for excluding some of the factors?• Are both risk and protective factors included?grant writing)?• Do selected factors have a strong causal impact upon• Is a process described for periodically assessing andone or more behaviors?updating the model?4 These are criteria for assessing logic models in general, not only logic models specifically designed for curriculum-based programs.12 Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical Guide for Developing and Adapting Curriculum-Based Programs