Effects of a teen pregnancy prevention program on teens' attitudes toward sexuality: A latent trait modeling approach.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of program interventions in a school-based teen pregnancy program on hypothesized constructs underlying teens' attitudes toward sexuality. An important task related to this purpose was the validation of the constructs and their stability from pre- to postintervention measures. Data from 1,136 middle grade students were obtained from an earlier evaluation of an abstinence-based teen pregnancy prevention program (S. Weed, I. Ericksen, G. Grant, & A. Lewis, 2002). Latent trait structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention program on changes in constructs of teens' attitudes toward sexuality. Gender was also taken into consideration. This investigation provides credible evidence that both 1st- and 2nd-order constructs related to measures of teens' attitudes toward risky sexual behavior are sufficiently stable and sensitive to detect program effects.

Never-Pregnant African American Adolescent Girls' Perceptions of Adolescent Pregnancy

“…However, there were numerous misconceptions about other methods for preventing pregnancy such as having sex in a swimming pool to wash away the semen or drinking vinegar if the condom bursts. Similar misconceptions about strategies to prevent pregnancy have been cited in the literature (Flowers-Coulson, Kushner, & Bankowski, 2000; Thomas & Dimitrov, 2007; Wynn, Foster, & Trussell, 2009). The origins of these misconceptions, whether spread by peers or family, are unclear but it is speculated that inaccurate information about sexual health on the internet is a contributing factor (Wynn et al, 2009).…”

Autoeficacia y embarazo adolescente

“…En el caso de la causalidad multifactorial del embarazo no planeado en la adolescencia, es necesario que las y los adolescentes adquieran la capacidad de hacer frente a las diversas demandas de su entorno que generan presión en la toma de decisiones relacionadas con la sexualidad, como el inicio de la vida sexual y el uso o no de los anticonceptivos (19).…”

Breaking the Repeat Teen Pregnancy Cycle

“…Other school‐based programs incorporated the school district, community hospital and local health department to develop interventions on advocacy, case management, collaboration, health teaching, referral and follow‐up for teen mothers. Over a 9‐year period, there was demonstrable reduction in teen pregnancy rates from 25 percent to 7.2 percent (Key et al, ; Schaffer, Jost, Pederson, & Lair, ; Thomas & Dimitrov, ).…”