Facilitator’s Curriculum Components:
AUTHORS
Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., John B. Jemmott III, Ph.D.
OVERVIEW OF THE CURRICULUM
In the Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only curriculum, students learn about puberty, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as HIV, and pregnancy prevention.
This is a very lively, exciting curriculum for students that is not a sit down and listen kind of program. It is very interactive and student-centric.
Features that make it unique from other Abstinence-Only programs are providing only medically accurate information, not suggesting abstinence-until-marriage, not making any moral judgments, including teen pregnancy along with HIV and STDs as an unwanted outcome, and homework assignments that involve talking to parents about tough subjects.
Students participate in Talking Circles, Brainstorming, and Role-Plays. The program also includes DVD videos, exercises, and games that make learning enjoyable. Most activities are brief and can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes. The information is serious and important, but presented in a way that students can learn together and enjoy themselves. Participants who completed the program in the Jemmotts’ study stated that they had a good time, learned a lot and would recommend the program to their friends.
Curriculum Objectives
After participating in the curriculum, students will be better able to:
- Recognize Abstinence as the best way to avoid pregnancy and HIV/STDs
- View Abstinence as a positive choice
- Recognize teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and STDs as obstacles to their goals and dreams
- Respond with confidence to pressures to have sex
Implementation of the Curriculum
Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only was designed to be used with small groups of adolescents in an urban area but can be adapted to be used with larger numbers of participants in rural areas as well. The curriculum can be implemented in various community settings, including schools or youth-serving agencies.
Format and Length
The Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only program is divided into eight 1-hour modules. Each module is set up in the same way. You should become familiar with the basic layout of the modules. This will help you get the most out of the information offered to you and help you use it effectively.
Below is an outline of the curriculum modules:
Module Outline:
- “Getting to Know You and Steps to Making Your Dreams Come True”
- “Puberty and Adolescent Sexuality”
- “Making Abstinence Work for Me”
- “The Consequences of Sex: HIV/AIDS”
- “The Consequences of Sex: Sexually Transmitted Diseases”
- “The Consequences of Sex: Pregnancy”
- “Improving Sexual Choices and Negotiation”
- “Role-Plays: Refusal and Negotiation Skills”
Special Considerations
The curriculum requires the use of a TV and DVD player or a computer.
Types of Activities
The Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only program includes learning activities such as small group discussions, videos, games, role-plays and homework assignments. Activities are designed to help teens get the skills they need to negotiate and practice abstinence. These activities make teens aware of how choices about their sexual behavior can affect their health. The activities show that abstinence is the best way to avoid pregnancy and STDs, like HIV and AIDS.
Theoretical Framework used in Promoting Health Among Teens!
Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only draws upon these three theories: Social-Cognitive Theory, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behavior. These theories have been shown to be of great value to understanding a wide range of health-related behaviors. All three theories emphasize the importance of beliefs about whether a given behavior will have negative or positive consequences.
Target Audience
Young African-American, Hispanic and White adolescents, ages 13-18 who attend high schools and youth-serving community based programs.
Research Articles
In the research study, the twelve-hour curriculum was implemented in a small group setting with African-American students in grades 6 and 7 on two Saturdays in four different urban public schools. In this random control trial, 662 African American participants between the ages of 10 and 15, mean age 12.2 years, were stratified by gender and age and randomly assigned to receive one of five curricula: an 8-hour abstinence-only intervention, an 8-hour safer-sex-only intervention, an 8- or 12-hour combined abstinence and safer-sex intervention, or an 8-hour health-promotion control group. The adolescents received the curriculum in small groups of six to eight. The facilitators were all African-American and one Peurto Rican adult (mean age 43.1 years); 61.2% had a master’s degree and 38.8% had a bachelor’s degree.
The participants completed questionnaires before, immediately after and 3-, 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-months after the intervention. Of the original 662 participants, 98% attended at least one of the follow-ups; 95.6% attended the three-month, 96.1% attended the six-month, 90.3% attended the 12-month, 87.2% attended the 18-month, and 84.4% attended the 24-month follow-up. The primary outcome for the 12-hour combined abstinence and safer-sex intervention was self-report of ever having sexual intercourse by the 24-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were other self-reported sexual behaviors in the previous 3 months such as sexual intercourse, multiple partners, unprotected intercourse and consistent condom use. The 12-hour combined abstinence and safer-sex intervention significantly reduced reports of having multiple partners compared with the control group. Participants who received the 12-hour combined abstinence and safer-sex intervention were less likely to report having multiple sex partners in all follow-up sessions than the control group.
The 12-hour combined abstinence and safer-sex intervention marginally significantly reduced the incidence of recent sexual intercourse compared with the health control group.
Behavioral Findings
The participants who received the Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only Intervention reported:
- A reduction in the incidence of recent sexual intercourse over the past 3 months at the 3-, 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month follow- ups.
- A significant reduction in sexual initiation by the 24-month follow-up (33.5% in the abstinence-only intervention as compared to 48.5% in the control group)
The curriculum delayed sexual experience among virgins. Among the participants who reported no previous sexual experience at the baseline, the students who received the Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only intervention, were less likely to report having sexual intercourse at the 3-month follow up than those in the control group.
The adolescents who received the Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only intervention believed more strongly that practicing abstinence would prevent pregnancy and AIDS, expressed less favorable attitudes toward sexual intercourse, and reported weaker intentions of having sexual intercourse over the next three months than did those in the control group.
Adolescents who received the Promoting Health Among Teens! Abstinence-Only
intervention also believed more strongly that practicing abstinence would help them
achieve their career goals than did those in the control group.
Curriculum Video Samples
Video Samples coming soon.
Package Components
Coming soon!
