Adolescent School-Based Sex Education: Using Developmental Neuroscience to Guide New Directions for Policy and Practice

Suleiman, Ahna Ballonoff; Brindis, Claire D.

doi:10.1007/s13178-014-0147-8

Cited by 22 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 84 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The following strategies have not been widely validated in the school environment but could provide promising results for AOD prevention in older adolescents: There is compelling evidence to support the seductive allure of neuroscience explanations in providing credible information about psychological issues in young people . There is potential to leverage brain imaging and neuroscience findings, in the education of AOD harms. While programs contend to adopt a harm minimisation approach, few universal programs adopt a harm reduction approach for illicit substances, one of the three pillars of harm minimisation .…”

Section: Reversing the Stigma: Delivering Targeted Programs Universallymentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol and other drug prevention for older adolescents: It's a no brainer

Debenham

Newton

Birrell

et al. 2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Older adolescence represents a critical period of brain development whereby the prefrontal cortex, responsible for higher level thinking and emotional regulation, is under construction. During this period, the brain is wired to underestimate risk and overestimate pleasure, which primes young people towards risky, pleasure-oriented experiences. Substance use during this time can hinder brain maturation and lead to development related disorders. However, young people are the most likely to drink at risky quantities, use cannabis, MDMA and cocaine in the previous 12 months than any other age group. Despite this, there are no validated, age-appropriate prevention programs targeting school leavers, which leaves a group of young people to navigate a landscape where drug use is the most common, without formal support. Drug and alcohol prevention programs should be developed for this age group that combine features of universal prevention programs and targeted intervention programs to support the wider range of drug use behaviours relevant to this older audience. This article outlines potential evidence-based strategies that programs could focus on in the future. [Debenham J, Newton N, Birrell L, Askovic M. Alcohol and other drug prevention for older adolescents: It's a no brainer. Drug Alcohol Rev 2019;38:327-330]

show abstract

Section: Reversing the Stigma: Delivering Targeted Programs Universallymentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol and other drug prevention for older adolescents: It's a no brainer

Debenham

Newton

Birrell

et al. 2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These models describe decision-making as a deliberate and analytic process and are useful for predicting behaviors that are typically unemotional [ 50 ]; the utility of these models is limited for sexual behaviors, which are inherently emotional. Findings stemming from developmental neuroscience experts suggest that changes in relational, emotional, and social processing play a critical role in influencing adolescent behavior, highlighting the potential of integrating emotionally relevant learning strategies into sexual health programs; by doing so, the content becomes more meaningful and relevant to adolescents, and better supports the development of decision-making skills [ 51 ]. Further, most existing interventions are inherently cognitive, teaching adolescents how to refuse unwanted or unprotected sexual intercourse, but do not address the circumstances or situations under which adolescents might be willing to engage in certain sexual behaviors [ 51 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Adolescent Healthy Relationships (The About Us Program): Protocol for a Randomized Clinical Trial

Anderson¹,

Coyle²,

Guinosso³

et al. 2021

JMIR Res Protoc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Romantic relationships play a critical role in adolescent development, and by middle adolescence, most young people have been involved in at least one romantic relationship, a context in which most sexual interactions occur. Research suggests adolescents lack positive models and skills related to building healthy relationships. Objective This project aims to test the impact of an innovative healthy relationships intervention, called About Us, implemented in school-based health centers (SBHCs) in California in a randomized controlled trial. Methods About Us is being tested using a 7-site, 2-group, parallel randomized controlled trial with a treatment versus control allocation ratio of 3:2 to assess the impact of the intervention relative to the standard of care among adolescents aged 14 to 18 years. Adolescents with active parental consent provide study assent at each of the 3 survey time points: baseline, 3 months postintervention, and 9 months postintervention. A stratified randomization procedure was used to ensure balance in key covariates and screening criteria across intervention groups. Through benchmark intent-to-treat analyses, we will examine the primary outcome of this study—the impact of About Us relative to the standard of care 9 months following the end of the intervention on the prevalence of vaginal or anal sex without condoms in the past 3 months. The secondary outcomes are four-fold: what is the impact of About Us relative to the standard of care 3 and 9 months following the end of the intervention, on (1) the prevalence of abstinence from vaginal or anal sex in the past 3 months, (2) composite scores of relationship communication and positive conflict resolution among participants involved in a relationship at baseline, (3) the prevalence of SBHC service use or information receipt in the past 3 months, and (4) composite scores of condom use intentions and attitudes regarding condoms and other birth control? Additionally, as part of our sensitivity analyses, two additional analyses will be implemented: modified intent-to-treat and complete case analysis. Results This project (ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT03736876) was funded in 2016 through the Family Youth Services Bureau as part of the Personal Responsibility Education Innovative Strategies program. Baseline data collection took place between February 2018 and March 2020, yielding a total of 5 cohorts and 533 study participants: 316 assigned to treatment and 217 assigned to control. Ongoing follow-up data collection continued through May 2021. Conclusions About Us draws on developmental science to create a contextually and developmentally relevant program that addresses motivation and emotional influences in sexual decision-making. The intervention was designed for implementation within SBHCs, an understudied venue for relationship and sexual health promotion interventions. Unfortunately, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions led to school closures, interrupting ongoing programming, and in-person follow-up data collection, which has affected study attrition. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03736876; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03736876 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/30499

show abstract

“…Developmental neuroscience offers new and productive opportunities to improve sexual risk reduction interventions in numerous ways, including expanding the theoretical models used to guide intervention development to include dual-process models and developing innovative strategies for addressing the impact of emotional arousal and peer effects on sexual decision making, among others [12].…”

Section: Refocusing Prevention For Younger Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%