A statewide evaluation of the Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL) program was conducted to assess its ability to increase adolescents’ knowledge and beliefs about pregnancy prevention. ENABL is aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy through abstinence. Using a quasiexperimental research methodology, middle school students (N = 1,450) comprised a treatment group (n = 974) and a comparison group (n = 476). Subjects completed a pretest and post-test reflecting knowledge and beliefs about teenage pregnancy. ANCOVA revealed significant differences (F = 8.98, p < .001) on posttest scores between the two groups. The treatment group showed marked improvement from pretest to posttest scores, whereas the comparison group did not. These findings support the claim that the Postponing Sexual Involvement (PSI) curriculum is effective in affecting students’ knowledge and beliefs about teenage pregnancy and illuminate the need for social work intervention at a variety of levels to address this multifaceted problem.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alan Guttmacher Institute. (1997). Teen pregnancy rates highest in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Arizona and New Mexico, new analysis shows [On-line]. Available: http://www.agiusa.org/new/newsrelease597.html
2.
Brewer, J. K. (1978). Everything you always wanted to know about statistics, but didn’t know how to ask. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
3.
Card, J. J., Niego, S., Mallari, A., & Farrell, W. S. (1996). The program archive on sexuality, health, & adolescence: Promising “prevention programs in a box.”Family Planning Perspectives, 28, 211-220.
4.
Cohen, J. (1977). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Academic Press.
5.
de Gaston, J. F., Jensen, L., & Weed, S. (1995). A closer look at adolescent sexual activity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 465-479.
6.
Eisen, M., & Zellman, G. L. (1987). Change in incidence of sexual intercourse of unmarried teenagers following a community-based sex education program. Journal of Sex Research, 23(4), 27-54.
7.
Eisen, M., Zellman, G. L., & McAlister, A. (1985). A health belief model approach to adolescents’ fertility control: Some pilot program findings. Health Education Quarterly, 12, 185-210.
8.
Firestone, W. A. (1994). The content and context of sexuality education: An exploratory study in one state. Family Planning Perspectives, 26, 125-131.
9.
Fischer, J. (1973). Is casework effective? A review. Social Work, 18, 5-20.
10.
Frost, J. J., & Forrest, J. D. (1995). Understanding the impact of effective teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Family Planning Perspectives, 26, 188-195.
11.
Gilbert, F. S., & Bailis, K. L. (1980). Sex education in the home: An empirical task analysis. Journal of Sex Research, 16, 148-161.
12.
Grady Health System, Adolescent Reproductive Health Center. (1995). Postponing sexual involvement educational series for young teens [Brochure]. Atlanta, GA: Author.
13.
Harrison, D. F., & Thyer, B. A. (1988). Doctoral research on social work practice. A proposed agenda. Journal of Social Work Education, 24, 107-114.
14.
Howard, M. (1991). Evaluation: It makes a difference. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 67, 595-605.
15.
Howard, M., & McCabe, J. B. (1990). Helping teenagers postpone sexual involvement. Family Planning Perspectives, 22, 21-26.
16.
Kenney, A. M., Guardado, S., & Brown, L. (1989). Sex education and AIDS education in the schools: What states and large school districts are doing. Family Planning Perspectives, 21, 56-64.
17.
Kirby, D. (1984). Sexuality education: An evaluation of programs and their effects. Santa Cruz, CA: Network Publications.
18.
Kirby, D., Korpi, M., Barth, R. P., & Cagampang, H. H. (1995). Evaluation of Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL): Final report [Evaluation report]. Berkeley, CA: University of California, School of Social Welfare, Family Welfare Research Group.
19.
Kirby, D., Korpi, M., Barth, R. P., & Cagampang, H. H. (1997). The impact of Postponing Sexual Involvement curriculum among youths in California. Family Planning Perspectives, 29, 100-108.
20.
Koo, H. P., Dunteman, G. H., George, C., Green, Y., & Vincent, M. (1994). Reducing adolescent pregnancy through a school- and community-based intervention: Denmark, South Carolina revisited. Family Planning Perspectives, 26, 206-211, 217.
21.
Lameiras, M. M., & Gaulin, E. (1997, January 5). Emory program gets Clinton praise. The Atlanta Constitution, p. A16.
22.
Lopez, G., Westoff, W., Perrin, K., & Remmel, R. (1995, August). Pregnancies averted among publicly funded family planning users: Florida—1994 [Technical report]. Tamp: University of South Florida, College of Public Health, The Department of Community and Family Health.
23.
Lord, F. (1969). Statistical adjustments when comparing pre-existing groups. Psychological Bulletin, 70, 162-179.
24.
Miller, T. E., Booraem, C., Flowers, J. V., & Iverson, A. E. (1990). Changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior as a result of a community-based AIDS prevention program. AIDS Education and Prevention, 2, 12-23.
25.
1996 annual report: Florida education and employment council for women and girls. Investing in Florida’s women and children: Implications and recommendations for workforce development and welfare reform. (1996). Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida, College of Education, Center for Education Research and Development.
26.
Pedhazur, E. (1982). Multiple regression in behavioral research (2nd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
27.
Poole, D. L. (1996). Welfare reform: The bad, the ugly, and maybe not too awful. Health & Social Work, 21, 243-246.
28.
Pratt, J. M. (1996, January 3). [Letter to the editor]. The Sacramento Bee, p.B9.
29.
Rosoff, J. I. (1989). Sex education in the school: Policies and practice [Editorial]. Family Planning Perspectives, 21, 52, 64.
30.
Rubin, A. (1985). Practice effectiveness: More grounds for optimism. Social Work, 30, 469-476.
31.
Scales, P. (1981). Sex education in the 70’s and 80’s: Accomplishments, obstacles, and emerging issues. Family Relations, 30, 557-566.
32.
Schinke, S. P. (1998). Preventing teenage pregnancy: Translating research knowledge. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1(1), 53-66.
33.
Shamai, S., & Coambs, R. B. (1992). The relative autonomy of schools and educational interventions for substance abuse prevention, sex education, and gender stereotyping. Adolescence, 27, 761-767.
34.
Smith, C. A. (1997). Factors associated with early sexual activity among urban adolescents. Social Work, 42, 334-344.
35.
State of Florida, Department of Education, Office of Policy Research and Improvement. (1990). Hot topics: Usable research. Human sexuality education: Elements of effective research. Tallahassee, FL: Author.
36.
Stevens, J. (1996). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
37.
Thomson, R. (1994). Moral rhetoric and public health pragmatism: The recent politics of sex education. Feminist Review, 48, 40-60.
38.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (1997). A national strategy to prevent teen pregnancy. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
39.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Health Resources & Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, & National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). (1996). Unintended pregnancy: Prevention strategies for local health departments (Publication No. MCU-116060-11). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
40.
Vanzi, M. (1995, December 28). Governor ends teen pregnancy program. Los Angeles Times, p. A7.
