title: Assessment of a Culturally-Tailored Sexual Health Education Program for African American Youth.
abstract: African American youth are affected disproportionately by sexually transmitted infections (STIs), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and teenage pregnancy when compared to other racial groups. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the To Help Young People Establish (2 HYPE) Abstinence Club, a behavioral intervention designed to promote delayed sexual activity among African American youth ages 12-18 in Atlanta, Georgia. The intervention included 20 h of curriculum and creative arts instruction. Pre- and post-intervention survey data collected from 2008-2010 were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Intervention (n= 651) and comparison (n= 112) groups were compared through analysis of variance and multivariate logistic regression models. There was a statistically significant increase in intervention youth who were thinking about being abstinent (p= 0.0005). Those who had not been engaged in sexual activity were two times more likely to plan abstinence compared to participants that had been previously sexually active previously (odds ratio 2.41; 95% confidence interval 1.62, 3.60). Significant results hold implications for subsequent community-based participatory research and practice that broadens the understanding of the relevance of marriage, as just one among other life success milestones that may hold more importance to African American youth in positioning the value of delayed and responsible sexual activity towards effective STIs, HIV/AIDS, and teen pregnancy risk reduction interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. tzellner@msm.edu.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zellner Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. takintobi@msm.edu.
authors.forename: Tabia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Henry Akintobi
authors.affiliation: McKing Consulting Corporation, 2900 Chamblee Tucker Road, Building 10, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. amiller@msm.edu.
authors.forename: Assia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. eabooker@msm.edu.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Archie-Booker
authors.affiliation: Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, 2545 Benjamin E. Mays Drive, Atlanta, GA 30311, USA. tjohnson@wholistic1.com.
authors.forename: Tarita
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: ICF International, 3 Corporate Square NE Suite 370, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. devans@icf.com.
authors.forename: Donoria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: African American; adolescents; evaluation; sexual health