Family life education for young adolescents: a quasi-experiment

The impact of a family life education program for inner-city, minority elementary-school students was investigated. 2 randomly assigned groups of 7th and 8th graders (balanced for gender) completed a self administered survey, both before and after program implementation. In comaprison to the control group, program participants displayed (a) improved knowledge about contraception, reproductive physiology, an adolescent pregnancy outcomes; (b) increased awareness of the existence of specific birth control methods; (c) among 7th gradres, more conservative attitudes toward circumstances under which sexual intercourse was viewed as personally acceptable, and among8th graders, a shift toward more liberal attitudes; and (d) a greater tendency to acknowledge mutual responsibility for contraception. The impact of this intervention and school-based sex education programs in general is discussed within the broader context of the young adolescent's social environment.