Student Voices: Perspectives on Peer‐to‐Peer Sexual Health Education

Abstract

Our findings suggest that the peer-led comprehensive sexual health education approach embodied in Teen PEP can be an important educational mechanism for teaching students information and skills to promote sexual health.

Impacts of a School‐Wide, Peer‐Led Approach to Sexuality Education: A Matched Comparison Group Design

“…High attrition and the many implementation barriers faced by the schools in our study also indicate the importance of planning for the success of peer‐led programming . Effective delivery of Teen PEP requires planning for and management of both a class for peer educators and the seminars during which peer educators deliver the program content.…”

“…Moreover, our analysis reveals the impact of Teen PEP in contrast to “business‐as‐usual” sexual education in comparison schools. At the time of the evaluation, students in most New Jersey schools received comprehensive sexual education and North Carolina required schools to provide comprehensive sexual education . This could reduce the contrast in the education received by students in intervention and comparison schools.…”

“…Teen PEP is a school‐based comprehensive sex education curriculum that aims to reduce adolescent sexual risk behaviors through school‐wide, peer‐led initiatives and activities . The program features a series of 5 workshops delivered to all ninth grade students over the course of a school year (New Jersey schools) or semester (North Carolina schools) by a smaller group of 11th and 12th grade peer educators from the same school.…”

“…Schools in the both the intervention and comparison groups could continue implementing any existing sexual health programs or curricula offered as part of their regular instruction. Such existing programs varied across schools but especially across states . Students in most New Jersey high schools take a health class that includes comprehensive sex education.…”

“…We conducted a more formal evaluation of the program, as implemented in New Jersey and North Carolina high schools, working with staff from the Center for Supportive Schools (the organization that co‐developed, manages, and disseminates Teen PEP) and HiTops (an adolescent health and education center and Teen PEP co‐developer). Findings from a process study documenting the implementation of the program were previously published . This article adds to the process study findings by reporting results from an accompanying impact study.…”