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A recent study found that abstinence pledges and education programs were not effective in preventing or postponing sexual initiation in adolescents.

comes in light of a decade or so push toward abstinence training (pwrora & pledges) where abstinence education was taking center stage

presents a follow up discussion on the state of contraceptive use and knowledge to Cooksey, Rindfuss, Guilkey (1996) where they describe contraceptive use in the aftermath of AIDS

this paper is more of a focus on contraceptive use and knowledge in the aftermath of abstience-based sex education

This study provides a novel way of determining if adolescents are getting the message about safe sex and then are putting these lessons into practice.

Most importantly, it examines the effect of school climate variables on contra use and knowledge, paying particular attention to the idea of institutions as a way of transmitting information & knowledge within itself

Contraceptive knowledge differences by sex? gender, ethincity?

Two major ideas

• Two major jideas here
  
  • is there a difference in contraceptive knowledge that is influenced by individual, peer, and school characteristics?
  • does this knowledge base at the individual, peer, and school level influence sexual activity and contraceptive behaviors?
• What we know about actual sexual behaviors
  • e.g., trends and patterns in contracpetive use and sexual activity
  • individual level influences
  • peer level influences
  • school level influences
• Little is known about how information about these behaviors is (effectively) transmitted to adolescents
  • use a variety of methods to convey information
    • formal and informal programs
  • but at what level is the knowledge & behavior of the individual actually influenced?
    • does this vary by age, gender, and ethnicity as previous work has suggested?

Controls W1

• age
• gender
• race
• education of parents
• family structure

Independent Individual Level Variables W1

• rel invovlement
• course taking
  • science - highest science course taken
  • health - must be in there somewhere (Manlove, Ryan, Franzetta)...

Independent School Level Variables W1

• sex ed details
  • school admin W1 24-27, 29-30
  • school admin W2 20
• course taking - participation
  
  • science
  • health
    • W2 16, 17
• course taking - available
  • science
  • health
    • W2 16, 17

Outcome variables (check alphas)

• Knowledge quiz - two parts where answer question and indicate their confidence in their answer
  • 10 questions about contraception
  • section 19 W2
  • maybe get two scores - number right and confidence
  • then get some sort of interaction between the two
  • only to 15 & older
• Beliefs
  • Beliefs about chance of pregnancy & STD
  •  
    • section 8
    • 2 questions that ask about the likelihood of pregnancy & STDs
  • Self-efficacy
  •  
    • section 9
    • beliefs about their ability to stop sexual intercourse in a variety of settings
    • 3 questions - highly aroused, plan ahead, resist of partner didn't want bc

from Bruckner, Martin, Bearman, 2004:

Attitudes toward contraception :Composite of responses to seven items about birth control at Wave 1: "too much of a hassle to use,""too expensive to buy,""takes too much planning,""too hard to get a boy to use with you,'"'interferes with sexual enjoyment,"" using it is morally wrong"and"if you used it,your friends might think that you were looking for sex0(scale:1-5)

Contraceptive use na - Consistency of use across all partnerships between waves

Knowledge about pregnancy avoidance + - Number of correct answers to nine true-or-false questions about proper i condom usage,ovulation and pregnancy risk (scale:O-9)

Unfounded certainty - + Number of incorrect answers in the knowledge quiz about which the I respondent was certain she was right (scale:O-9)

To keep in mind -

• context of sexual relationship matters - for romantic versus nonromantic sexual relationships - different patterns of contraception use
  • age of partner
  • maybe in school versus out of school
• many of the studies restrict samples to only sexually experienced adolescents
• condom versus other contraception use
• focuso on females

Sources to keep in mind:

• Fortenberry, 2003 (In Adolescent Romantic Relationships & Sexual Behaviors)
• Giordano, Manning, & Longmore, 2006 (from Crouter & Booth)
• Manning, Longmore, Giordano Rudolf 2003 -
  
  • its not knowledge alone that is important but the combo of knowledge and efficacy that ultimately leads to contraception use
• Mauldon & Luker
• Harris Duncan Boisjoly