School health education and gender: an interactive effect?

Abstract

Post-primary school students (n = 2407) and young adults (n = 477) participated in a cross-sectional evaluation of a health education programme for schools. The Lifeskills programme is based on a philosophy of student empowerment, and aims to teach knowledge and skills relevant to health promoting behaviour. School students were recruited in schools, while young adults were opportunistically recruited in workplaces, training centres and on public transport. Those who attended schools where Lifeskills had been taught and who remembered such lessons were conservatively classified as the intervention group, while those who attended other schools and did not remember such lessons were classified as the comparison group. Participants completed questionnaires designed to collect data on health-related behaviours, indicators, knowledge and psychological health. School-level factors were employed as covariates in subsequent analyses of covariance. Amongst younger pupils, females reported more positive health behaviours but lower levels of psychological well-being and more symptoms. The impact of the programme became evident at ages 13-15. Those involved drank less and reported more positive adjustment to school. However, sex differences remained, with females reporting more health-promoting behaviour and more symptoms, and lagging behind males in self-esteem and general well-being. An interaction between gender and the intervention was identified among senior pupils. Exposure was especially beneficial for females. However, as young adults, the two main effects of gender and programme participation re-emerged as the most important independent variables, and the interaction between them was not significant. This pattern has implications for the interpretation of evaluations conducted on short-term interventions as well as for short-term impact evaluations.

The influence of situational emotions on the intention for sustainable consumer behaviour in a student-centred intervention

“…Bisonnette and Contento 2001;Gabhainn and Kelleher 2000). The duration of the programme was probably too short to motivate students to turn intentions into persistent behavioural changes.…”

The West Virginia Health Education Assessment Project

“…The current study included analysis by gender as evaluations of health education have given minimal attention to the importance of this variable. 10 The results show that females scored significantly higher than males on total HEAP scores and subtest scores. These findings suggest that health education should be presented in a way to meet the needs of males and females.…”

Gender and Content Influence Second-Level Students’ Expectations of Health Education Seminars Provided in a Health Promoting Hospital Setting

“…Similarly fashion conscious girls were more likely to be smokers, the converse with boys (29). In a schools lifeskills programme, girls were more likely to engage effectively with the programme than boys (15). These gender effects persist into adulthood and in other settings (30;31).…”