Project Taking Charge: The relationship between adolescent and parent outcomes

Date

1993-08

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between student and parent responses to Project Taking Charge, an abstinencebased sex education program developed and implemented by the American Home Economics Association. The program was offered to seventh- and eighth-grade home economics students and their parents in communities with high rates of teen pregnancy, large minority or low-income populations, and large numbers of single-parent families. The subsample used for this analysis included 154 treatment group students and their parents involved in the first and third years of the program. The instruments included some standardized items, such as the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and others from the question pool developed by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs. The analysis tested one hypothesis dealing with the nature of the relationship between student and parent responses as measured by pretest to posttest knowledge galns. Four other hypotheses dealt with three categories of variables expected to discriminate between student-parent pairs who both responded positively to the program and those who did not. The variables of interest were educational and occupational variables, individual variables, and relationship variables. The relationship between student and parent responses was statistically significant but modest. No significant discriminant functions were generated. The results were used to identify key aspects of the curriculum which, if enhanced, might increase the relationship between parent and student outcomes. Limitations and implications of the study were discussed.

Description

Keywords

Project Taking Charge -- Evaluation, Sex instruction for teenagers -- Evaluation, Teenage pregnancy -- United States -- Study and teaching, Parent and teenager

Citation