Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical - ETR Associates

Figure2-3 An Example of a Logic Model to Reduce Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseaseby Implementing a Sexuality Education Curriculum (Continued)Individual Risk andCurriculum Activities Protective Factors Behaviors Goals• Lead group discussions in which students discuss the advantages and disadvantagesof engaging in sex; emphasize that abstinence is the only 100% effective methodof avoiding pregnancy and STD, and may reduce some emotional negativeoutcomes; and emphasize that some advantages of sex are short-term while somedisadvantages can be long-term• Discuss methods of showing you care about someone without engaging in sex• Create materials for parents to help them explore, understand, and express theirvalues about sexuality, love and relationships• Assign homework activities in which students ask their parents several questionsabout their values about sexuality, love and relationships• Through class discussions and help from peer leaders, identify and describe thetypes of situations which might lead to undesired sex, and identify multiplestrategies for avoiding each situation• Provide demonstration and practice of skills to refrain from sex when pressured tohave sex• Have teachers or peer leaders demonstrate effective strategies for saying no toundesired sex through scripted roleplays• Have students divide into small groups and practice roleplays by reading scripts• Repeat roleplays with increasingly challenging situations and less scripting,allowing students to use their own skills in more difficult contextsDecrease permissive attitudesabout sex and increase attitudesfavoring abstinence or longterm,faithful relationships ifhaving sexIncrease belief that parents/family have conservativevalues about sex and supportabstinence or long-term,faithful relationships if havingsexIncrease self-efficacy and skillsto abstain from undesired orunprotected sex• Delay initiation ofsex• Reduce frequencyof sex amongsexually active• Reduce number ofpartners• Avoid concurrentpartners• Increase timebetween partners• Have only longterm,mutuallyfaithful partners ifhaving sex• Reduce teenpregnancy• Reduce STD• Have students think clearly about what is the right choice for them in terms of sexand number of partners• Have them think about what circumstances or events might challenge their choiceto abstain from sex or limit sex to one faithful partner• Have them create a personal plan to avoid those circumstances or events orovercome themIncrease intention to abstainfrom sex or to abstain from sexoutside of long-term, faithfulrelationships if having sex(Continued)16 Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical Guide for Developing and Adapting Curriculum-Based Programs