A school intervention for 13- to 15-year-olds to prevent dating and relationship violence: the Project Respect pilot cluster RCT

Meiksin, Rebecca; Crichton, Jo; Dodd, Matthew; Morgan, Gemma; Williams, Philippa; Willmott, Micky; Allen, Elizabeth; Tilouche, Nerissa; Sturgess, Joanna; Morris, Stephen; Barter, Christine; Young, Honor; Melendez‐Torres, G. J.; Taylor, Bruce; Reyes, H. Luz McNaughton; Elbourne, Diana; Sweeting, Helen; Hunt, Kate; Ponsford, Ruth; Campbell, Rona; Bonell, Chris

doi:10.3310/phr08050

Cited by 21 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…[ 32 ]) and related school-based interventions (e.g. [ 33 ]). A 2010 online poll of 788 UK 16–18 year-olds about school-based sexual harassment found 71% had heard sexual name-calling towards girls a few times a week or more, 28% had seen sexual pictures on mobile phones a few times a month or more and 29% of girls had experienced unwanted sexual touching [ 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sampling, opt-in and online nature of both studies means their results may not be generalizable. A 2017 school-based survey which asked how often sexual harassment was experienced in school and elsewhere found 9.5% of English 12–14 year-olds reported any experience, however results were not disaggregated by setting [ 33 ]. The 2021 UK government review found that among 13–18 year olds, 92% girls and 74% boys reported sexist name-calling happened ‘a lot’ or ‘sometimes’ between people of their own age, while among girls, 88% had been sent pictures/videos they did not want to see and 64% had experienced unwanted touching, with increased likelihood of both offline and online sexual harassment and violence among older adolescents [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sexual harassment in secondary school: Prevalence and ambiguities. A mixed methods study in Scottish schools

et al. 2022

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Background Adolescence is characterized by identity formation, exploration and initiation of intimate relationships. Much of this occurs at school, making schools key sites of sexual harassment. Schools often lack awareness and understanding of the issue, and UK research on the topic is scarce. We explored prevalence and perceptions of sexual harassment in a school-based mixed-methods study of 13–17 year-old Scottish adolescents. Methods A student survey (N = 638) assessed past 3-months school-based victimization and perpetration prevalence via 17 behavioral items based on the most commonly used school-based sexual harassment measure (‘Hostile Hallways’). Eighteen focus groups (N = 119 students) explored which of 10 behaviors were perceived as harassing/unacceptable and why. Results Two-thirds reported any victimization: 64.7% ‘visual/verbal’ (e.g. sexual jokes) and 34.3% ‘contact/personally-invasive’ behaviors (e.g. sexual touching; most of whom also reported experiencing visual/verbal types) in the past 3-months. Data suggested a gateway effect, such that contact/personally-invasive behaviors are more likely to be reported by those also reporting more common visual/verbal behaviors. Some survey participants reported being unsure about whether they had experienced certain behaviors; and in focus groups, participants expressed uncertainty regarding the acceptability of most behaviors. Ambiguities centered on behavioral context and enactment including: degree of pressure, persistence and physicality; degree of familiarity between the instigator-recipient; and perception of the instigator’s intent. In attempting to resolve ambiguities, students applied normative schemas underpinned by rights (to dignity, respect and equality) and ‘knowingness’, usually engendered by friendship. Conclusions Our study confirms school-based sexual harassment is common but also finds significant nuance in the ways in which students distinguish between acceptable and harassing. School-based strategies to tackle sexual harassment must engage with this complexity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual harassment in secondary school: Prevalence and ambiguities. A mixed methods study in Scottish schools

et al. 2022

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“…Although such interventions have been delivered to address bullying, 67 our previous study of a wholeschool intervention to address dating and relationship violence suggested that this was not feasible because the topic was not sufficiently central to school priorities to ensure commitment. 58 Particularly with RSE DISCUSSION NIHR Journals Library www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk becoming statutory in English schools, this study suggests that schools were sufficiently committed to the broader topic of sexual health to enable them to commit to implementing a whole-school intervention.…”

Section: Implications For Policymentioning

confidence: 82%

“…In a deviation from protocol, we did not attempt to pilot moderator analyses (how effects vary by SES, sex, ethnicity and baseline risk) because our experience in an earlier study indicated that such analyses would be so severely underpowered as to be completely meaningless. 58 The analysis of the indicative primary outcome included data on pregnancies and abortions at follow-up only. All other outcomes included student-level covariates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We did not attempt to pilot moderator analyses because our experience in an earlier study indicated that such analyses would be so drastically underpowered as to be completely meaningless. 58 Intention-to-treat analyses were longitudinal rather than repeat cross-sectional so that these could adjust for baseline student-level covariates. The original protocol's reference to a cross-sectional analysis adjusting for student-level covariates was in error.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A school-based social-marketing intervention to promote sexual health in English secondary schools: the Positive Choices pilot cluster RCT

et al. 2021

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Background The UK still has the highest rate of teenage births in western Europe. Teenagers are also the age group most likely to experience unplanned pregnancy, with around half of conceptions in those aged < 18 years ending in abortion. After controlling for prior disadvantage, teenage parenthood is associated with adverse medical and social outcomes for mothers and children, and increases health inequalities. This study evaluates Positive Choices (a new intervention for secondary schools in England) and study methods to assess the value of a Phase III trial. Objectives To optimise and feasibility-test Positive Choices and then conduct a pilot trial in the south of England assessing whether or not progression to Phase III would be justified in terms of prespecified criteria. Design Intervention optimisation and feasibility testing; pilot randomised controlled trial. Setting The south of England: optimisation and feasibility-testing in one secondary school; pilot cluster trial in six other secondary schools (four intervention, two control) varying by local deprivation and educational attainment. Participants School students in year 8 at baseline, and school staff. Interventions Schools were randomised (1 : 2) to control or intervention. The intervention comprised staff training, needs survey, school health promotion council, year 9 curriculum, student-led social marketing, parent information and review of school/local sexual health services. Main outcome measures The prespecified criteria for progression to Phase III concerned intervention fidelity of delivery and acceptability; successful randomisation and school retention; survey response rates; and feasible linkage to routine administrative data on pregnancies. The primary health outcome of births was assessed using routine data on births and abortions, and various self-reported secondary sexual health outcomes. Data sources The data sources were routine data on births and abortions, baseline and follow-up student surveys, interviews, audio-recordings, observations and logbooks. Results The intervention was optimised and feasible in the first secondary school, meeting the fidelity targets other than those for curriculum delivery and criteria for progress to the pilot trial. In the pilot trial, randomisation and school retention were successful. Student response rates in the intervention group and control group were 868 (89.4%) and 298 (84.2%), respectively, at baseline, and 863 (89.0%) and 296 (82.0%), respectively, at follow-up. The target of achieving ≥ 70% fidelity of implementation of essential elements in three schools was achieved. Coverage of relationships and sex education topics was much higher in intervention schools than in control schools. The intervention was acceptable to 80% of students. Interviews with staff indicated strong acceptability. Data linkage was feasible, but there were no exact matches for births or abortions in our cohort. Measures performed well. Poor test–retest reliability on some sexual behaviour measures reflected that this was a cohort of developing adolescents. Qualitative research confirmed the appropriateness of the intervention and theory of change, but suggested some refinements. Limitations The optimisation school underwent repeated changes in leadership, which undermined its participation. Moderator analyses were not conducted as these would be very underpowered. Conclusion Our findings suggest that this intervention has met prespecified criteria for progression to a Phase III trial. Future work Declining prevalence of teenage pregnancy suggests that the primary outcome in a full trial could be replaced by a more comprehensive measure of sexual health. Any future Phase III trial should have a longer lead-in from randomisation to intervention commencement. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN12524938. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 9, No. 1. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

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Enacting whole‐school relationships and sexuality education in England: Context matters

Bragg¹,

Ponsford

Meiksin

et al. 2022

British Educational Res J

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A school intervention for 13- to 15-year-olds to prevent dating and relationship violence: the Project Respect pilot cluster RCT

Cited by 21 publications

References 81 publications

Sexual harassment in secondary school: Prevalence and ambiguities. A mixed methods study in Scottish schools

Sexual harassment in secondary school: Prevalence and ambiguities. A mixed methods study in Scottish schools

A school-based social-marketing intervention to promote sexual health in English secondary schools: the Positive Choices pilot cluster RCT

Enacting whole‐school relationships and sexuality education in England: Context matters

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