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This first Taiwan-wide sample survey of adolescent sexual awareness, knowledge, attitude, and behavior shows that secondary school students there: lack basic knowledge about contraception and reproduction, are often not being taught adequately about these subjects in school, have fairly permissive attitudes about sexual relationships, particularly males, are sexually active, particularly males and those in the private vocational high schools (although less so than their US counterparts), want to learn more about the nature of intimate relationships between males and females, and look to school and public health agencies to be more active sources of information and education.

An analysis of process variables strongly suggests that, within this African-American Community, "hands on" or "face to face" approaches along with mass media, mailings, and other less personal approaches were more effective in reducing personal smoking behavior than media, mailings, and other impersonal approaches alone addressed to large audiences.

The unprecedented decline of Taiwan's natural population increase rate from 3% in 1963 to 1.9% in 1973, attributed primarily to an increasing use of contraception, brought universal attention to one of the first and most successful national family planning programs, at a time when successes were few. Taiwan met its goal of decreasing its natural increase rate despite its young population, increasing numbers of women of childbearing ages, a strong preference for sons and a per capita income at the outset in 1963 of less than U.S.$200. Recognition of this achievement brought thousands of professionals, particularly from developing countries, to study the program firsthand: more than 3,000 during 1970--73 alone. This was matched by an avalanche of publications about the program that appeared around the world, written by practitioners, academics and others. This article tells the story of this success.

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Two large-scale, long-term research projects to test the feasibility of using positive and non-coercive incentives to encourage having fewer children and spacing were carried out in Taiwan during the 1970s. The results of these long-term projects are presented. The Educational Savings Plan, begun in 1971, provided financing for the secondary school education of children whose parents had limited family size to no more than three children. The Spacing Incentive Plan, begun in 1975, encouraged prolonging the interval between first and second births to at least three years by providing free birth delivery of the second child. Although both were less successful than anticipated, much was learned about the social, economic, and practical difficulties of program implementation.

An analysis of process variables strongly suggests that, within this African-American Community, "hands on" or "face to face" approaches along with mass media, mailings, and other less personal approaches were more effective in reducing personal smoking behavior than media, mailings, and other impersonal approaches alone addressed to large audiences.

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