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The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Endnotes
1. When classrooms or schools are the unit of randomization, the “effective sample size” is substantially lower than would be if students were the unit of randomization. This is because of the high within-class or within-school correlation (Kish 1965).
2. This is an issue that was of sufficient concern during the study design that an e
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Appendix A: Technical Workgroup for the Evaluation of Title V Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs
Marilyn Benoit, MD (1998– )
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The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . References
Adamek, Raymond J. “Responsible Social Values Program: Five-Year Project Final Report.” Submitted to the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kent, OH: Kent State University, March 17, 1993.
Bandura, A. Social Foundations of Thought and Action . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-H
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Future Analysis and Reporting Plans
Over the three-year sample enrollment period, which ended in fall 2001, the evaluation team secured cooperation from 3,300 youth and their parents to participate in the impact evaluation. To date, 3,081 of these youth have completed the wave 1 survey. The wave 2 survey has been administered to those youth enrolled during the first two study ye
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Careful and Thorough Data Collection Plans and Procedures
Plans and procedures for the data collection in the impact evaluation are designed to capture the high-quality data needed for a thorough evaluation. A conceptual framework for the program intervention strategies, which is consistent with the main theories of adolescent behavior discussed earlier, dictates the data collected and the timing of th
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Scientific Rigor in the Study Design
The scientific rigor of the impact study design rests on four key elements. It begins with the selection of strong, well-implemented, replicable program models. Second, the impact study uses a rigorous experimental design to create program and control groups within each site. Third, the sample enrollment period was long enough to generate ad
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Chapter III: The Foundation for Assessing the Impacts of Abstinence Education Programs
In 1997, Congress authorized, and its staff requested, a scientifically rigorous impact evaluation of the abstinence education programs funded under Title V Section 510 of the Social Security Act. Policymakers, school officials, community leaders, program staff, and parents all want to know the extent to which particular program strategies succe
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . More Lessons to Come
The collective state and local abstinence education program experiences from across the country now constitute a sizable body of information to inform the dialogue over approaches to reducing teen sexual activity. The level of attention now focused on teen sexual attitudes, behaviors, and consequences should help determine how best to assist com
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Partnerships with Local Schools Are Valuable but Often Difficult to Establish
Local schools are usually important partners in abstinence education programs. Schools provide unparalleled access to youth as a captive audience. Other than through the media, there is really no other way to reach so many youth on a regular basis. Furthermore, although the media can reach extraordinary numbers of youth, they do not have the
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Challenges Addressing Peer Pressure and the Communication Gulf Between Parents and Adolescents
Abstinence programs face real challenges in addressing peer pressure and the communication gulf between parents and adolescents. Testimony from youth about their perceptions of what is going on among their peers reflects, among other things, the extent to which they have been inundated with media messages, images, and thoughts about sexual activ
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Most Participants Feel Favorably About Their Program Experience
Youth tend to respond especially positively to programs when the staff are unambiguously committed to abstinence until marriage and when the program incorporates the broader goal of youth development. Young teachers who are public about their own commitment to abstinence appear to be very successful in engaging program youth. The Heritage Kee
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Abstinence Education Programs Offer More than a Single Message of Abstinence
A common perception is that abstinence education programs focus narrowly on teaching youth the single message of abstaining from sexual activity before marriage. Observations of the programs participating in the evaluation suggest that many of the programs include multiple components designed to reinforce and support their abstinence message.
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Title V Section 510 Abstinence Funds Are Changing the Local Landscape of Approaches to Preventing Teen Pregnancy
Funding for abstinence education has contributed to the evolving national struggle to address the social and economic consequences of teenage sexual activity, teenage childbearing, and out-of-wedlock births. Following considerable and sometimes rancorous controversy over whether and how to spend the $50 million in annual abstinence education blo
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Chapter II: Early Implementation Experiences of Abstinence Education Programs
The first four years of Title V Section 510 funding for abstinence education have generated a wealth of experience on how local communities and schools have designed and implemented abstinence programs and how youth have responded to them. Interviews with program staff, parents, and students, as well as observations of what and how the abstinenc
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Impact Evaluation
To date, the evaluation team has successfully implemented a scientifically rigorous impact study design in the five targeted program sites. Study enrollment is completed, and longitudinal tracking of youth is ongoing. Because of the importance of having large sample sizes and sufficient followup of program and control youth, no impact estimate
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Implementation and Process Evaluation
The implementation and process analysis documents the experience of organizations and communities applying for and receiving abstinence education funding in both the targeted and community-wide program sites. It describes the abstinence interventions implemented — the program goals, the underlying theoretical framework, and the specific curri
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . Site Selection
The first step of the evaluation entailed selecting abstinence programs for study. The evaluation team first called and met with numerous state officials and experts across the country to identify promising programs for inclusion in the evaluation. Grant applications and program documents then provided additional detail on program goals, targe
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . What Is the Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510?
In fall 1998, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded a competitive contract to Mathematica Policy Research to conduct an independent evaluation of Section 510 abstinence education programs. The evaluation addresses three important questions:
The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report . What Is the Title V Section 510 Abstinence Education Program?
In this context of high rates of teen sexual activity and their serious public health and socioeconomic consequences, interest in abstinence education has increased over the past decade. As a result, in 1998 the federal government provided $50 million annually for five years for block grants to states to support abstinence education programs.
