In 1999-2000, the California Department of Health Services funded 134 Community Challenge Grant (CCG) projects to reduce the state’s high rates of adolescent pregnancy. This paper investigates the effectiveness of the CCG program among middle school youth. Research has shown that these early adolescents, or "tweens," have unique vulnerabilities and strengths. An understanding of this population is crucial to developing age-specific pregnancy prevention programs. A sample of 2,277 middle school students completed a risk/resiliency survey which measured sexual attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors, as well as feelings of self-worth, personal strengths, stressful experiences, future plans, and drug and alcohol use. Approximately 90% of the youth reported they had not yet initiated sexual intercourse. When asked about reasons for waiting to have sex, the greatest increases in responses from pretest to posttest were that the tween had not yet met the right person (7%), that their parents would be upset (6%), and that they could not support a child at this time (6%). Among the 10% of students who were sexually active, there were mixed results regarding patterns of contraceptive use from pretest to posttest. The study also investigates the differences among those early adolescents who have and have not had sex to determine which risk and resiliency factors are strong predictors of sexual initiation. Overall, these findings suggest that, while the majority of California’s tweens are not yet sexually active, community-based programs are essential to building a foundation for healthy sexual behaviors as youth enter their high school years.
Learning Objectives: After this session, participants will be able to: 1) describe the change in reproductive knowledge, attitudes and practices of middle school students involved in a state-funded teen pregnancy prevention program, and 2) identify key psychosocial indicators of sexual initiation among early adolescents.
Keywords: Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Community Programs
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Office of Community Challenge Grants, California Department of Health Services; Statewide Evaluation Director, Community Challenge Grant Program
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employed under grant from Office of Community Challenge Grants, California Department of Health Services