Effects of Fear Vs. Norm Appeals in Abstinence Education for Teenagers

A vigorous debate as to which educational approaches§to educating youth about sexual health would be most§effective is ongoing in the U.S., as well as§worldwide. A majority of adults and teens agree that§schools should give teens a strong message that they§should abstain from sex until they are at least out§of high school (National Campaign to Prevent Teen§Pregnancy, 2003), yet there is uncertainty as to§whether programs that have a strong abstinence§message are effective in delaying teen sexual§involvement(Hymowitz, 2003; Manlove, Papillo,&§Ikramullah, 2004).§ This study compares the effect of an§abstinence-centered sexual health multimedia§presentation based on the Health Beliefs model§emphasizing the consequences of teen sexual behavior§on teens attitudes and intentions with the impact of§a presentation based on a Character Education model§that asserts norms of healthy sexual behaviors. It§also compares the effects of a multimedia program§based on cognitive flexibility theory with the§effects of a multimedia program that utilizes a§traditional instructive, directive approach.