Parent-child homework assignments designed to reinforce an abstinence-only sexuality education curriculum--Managing Pressures Before Marriage (MPM)--appear to have an immediate impact on some beliefs and attitudes that might influence sexual behavior among middle school youth, according to a new study. Students who worked with their parents on up to five homework assignments augmenting the MPM curriculum, in general, communicated more frequently with their parents about sexual issues and expressed stronger intentions to abstain from sexual intercourse until after high school (and were more confident about their ability to do so) than students who were exposed to the curriculum but did not participate in the additional homework-assignment intervention.
The study, "Effects of a Parent-Child Communications Intervention on Young Adolescents' Risk for Early Onset of Sexual Intercourse," by Susan M. Blake of the George Washington University Medical School and colleagues from the Academy for Educational Development and Prevention Partners, appears in the March/April 2001 issue of The Alan Guttmacher Institute's bimonthly, peer-reviewed journal, Family Planning Perspectives. It assesses the impact of the MPM-enhanced, homework-assignment intervention on adolescent sexual beliefs and intentions, compared with that of the MPM curriculum alone.
"The findings of the study are limited to a small group of primarily white, non-Hispanic suburban New York State teenagers, yet they provide some evidence that underscores the essential role parents play in sexuality education. Even though the long-term effects of the homework-assignment program are unknown, the findings suggest that getting parents and their children to talk about sex in a structured way can support school-based interventions," comments Sara Seims, president of The Alan Guttmacher Institute.
The MPM curriculum was implemented in three schools in predominantly white, middle-class communities outside Rochester, New York, during the 1998-1999 school year. Eighth-grade students were randomly assigned to receive either the classroom instruction alone or the instruction bolstered by five weekly homework assignments to be completed by the students and their parents. Pretest and posttest surveys were used to assess the impact of MPM delivered with and without the parent-child homework; results were available for 351 students.
The five homework assignments were intended to increase parents' understanding of the changes and pressures that their middle school children face; facilitate open and receptive parent-child communications about sex and sexuality; increase parents' ability to encourage their children to avoid or resist peer pressure to become sexually active; and build parents' and children's skills in identifying and reducing their risks of pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. (The assignments did not stress abstaining from sex until marriage.)
The authors conclude that teenagers benefited from the homework assignments in that they appeared to have developed more frequent communication with their parents, greater confidence in their ability to avoid peer or partner pressure to have sexual intercourse, and stronger overall intentions to be abstinent, as compared with students who did not participate in the MPM-enhanced program.
The March/April 2001 issue also features these studies on adolescent reproductive behavior:
• "Manifestations of Poverty and Birthrates Among Young Teenagers in California Zip Code Areas," by Douglas Kirby, Karin Coyle and Jeffrey B. Gould
• "Teenage Childbearing and Long-Term Socioeconomic Consequences: A Case Study in Sweden" by Petra Otterblad Olausson et al.
• "Risks Among Youths Who Have Multiple Sisters Who Were Adolescent Parents," by Patricia L. East and Elizabeth A. Kiernan
• "Reproductive Health Services for Adolescents Under the State Children's Health Insurance Program" by Rachel Benson Gold and Adam Sonfield