AIM 4 Teen Moms (AIM4TM)
The program was designed for and evaluated in participant homes (for individual sessions), and in community-based locations (for group sessions).
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
5000 Sunset Blvd., 7th floor
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: 323-361-3126
Email: aim@chla.usc.edu
Last updated in 2024
The data presented on this page reflect responses from the program’s developer or distributor to a program component checklist that asked them to report on the individual components within their TPP program. The same program component checklist was sent to the developer or distributor of every active TPP program with evidence of effectiveness. The program component table provides information on seven types of program components including content, delivery mechanism, dosage, staffing, format, context, and intended population characteristics; whether the component was present or optional in the program; whether the component is considered to be core to the program; and the lesson number or activity where the component can be found in the program.
In the drop-down menu below, under “Has component,” there are four options that indicate a component as present in the program: (1) “Yes” indicates that the component is present in at least one version of the program (whether that be the program version that was evaluated, the current version, or both versions); (2) “Yes (both versions)” indicates that the component is present in both the evaluated version of the program and the current version of the program; (3) “Yes (current version)” indicates that the component is present in the current, but not the evaluated, version of the program; and (4) “Yes (evaluated version)” indicates that the component is present in the evaluated version of the program, only. Note that for dosage components, the dosage itself is described in the Notes when available.
Some of the components identified are noted as core components of the evidence-based program, but this does not necessarily mean that these components have been rigorously tested and show evidence of effectiveness. Most often developers denoted components as core based on theory or experience in the field. Click here for the list of evidence-based components.
For more details about program components, refer to the FAQ page.
Category | Component | Core Component | Component present | Notes | Lesson number(s) / activities where present |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Content | Graduating from high school | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Higher Education Handout | Session 1, Activity E, page 14 |
Content | Substance use - Alcohol | No | |||
Content | Other | No | |||
Content | Volunteering/civic engagement | No | |||
Content | Spirituality | No | |||
Content | Morals/values | No | |||
Content | Identity development | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Aspiration Declaration/Imagining My Future | Session 2, Activity A, page 38/Group 1, Activity E, page 116-117 |
Content | Social support/capital | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Teen Mom Discussion/My New Positive Influence/Tree of Support | Group 1, Activity B, page 108-109 / Group 1, Activity F, page 118/Session 5, Activity C, page 137-138 |
Content | Social influence/actual vs. perceived social norms | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Teen Mom Discussion | Group 1, Activity B, page 108-109 |
Content | Social competence | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Communication Styles and Role-Plays/ Choose My Style & Mirror Mirror | Group 1, Activity C, page 110 - 114/ Session 5, Activity A, page 133-135 |
Content | Parenting skills | No | |||
Content | Normative beliefs | No | |||
Content | Leadership | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Legacy Introduction | Session 1, Activity C, page 7-8 |
Content | Gender roles | No | |||
Content | Gender identity | No | |||
Content | Cultural values | No | |||
Content | Connections with trusted adults | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Influences in My Life & Tree of Support | Session 5, Activity C, page 137-138 |
Content | Conflict resolution/social problem solving | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Communication Styles and Role-Plays/ Choose My Style & Mirror Mirror | Group 1, Activity C, page 110 - 114/ Session 5, Activity A, page 133-135 |
Content | Communication skills | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Communication Styles and Role-Plays/ Choose My Style & Mirror Mirror | Group 1, Activity C, page 110 - 114/ Session 5, Activity A, page 133-135 |
Content | Child development | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Child Developmental milestones | Session 1, Activity B, page 5-6 |
Content | Boundary setting/refusal skills | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Communication Styles and Role-Plays/ Choose My Style & Mirror Mirror/ Bill of Rights | Group 1, Activity C, page 110 - 114/ Session 5, Activity A, page 133-135/Session 5, Activity B, page 136 |
Content | Substance use cessation | No | |||
Content | Substance use - Other drugs | No | |||
Content | Substance use - Abstinence | No | |||
Content | Brain development and substance use | No | |||
Content | Vocational/skills training | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Higher Education Handout/Personal Experience & Resume | Session 1, Activity E, page 14/Session 3, Activity B, page 65-66 |
Content | Supplemental academic services | No | |||
Content | School engagement | No | |||
Content | College preparation | No | |||
Content | Alternative schooling | No | |||
Content | Self-regulation | No | |||
Content | Self-esteem | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Inspirational Quotes & Affirmations Poster/Aspiration Declaration | Session 1, Activity D, page 11-12/Session 2, Activity A, page 38 |
Content | Self-efficacy/empowerment | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Practices for Self Confidence cards/aspiration declaration | Session 1, Activity F, page 16 |
Content | Resilience | No | |||
Content | Personal vulnerability | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Teen Mom Discussion/Communication Styles and Role-Plays/Mirror Mirror/Tree of Support/Celebration Ceremony | Group 1, Activity B, page 108-109/Group 1, Activity C, page 110 - 114/ Session 5, Activity A, page 133-135/Session 5, Activity C, page 137-138/Group 2, Activity C, page 175-176 |
Content | Risk of STIs and Pregnancy | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Introduction to Reproductive Life Plan | Session 2, Activity D, page 43-45 |
Content | STIs - Screening | No | |||
Content | STIs - Prevention | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Birth Control Kit | Session 3, Activity A, page 61 - 64; Birth Control Method Handout |
Content | STIs - Information | No | |||
Content | Sexual risk reduction | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Birth Control Kit | Session 3, Activity A, page 61 - 64; Birth Control Method Handout |
Content | Sexual risk discontinuation | No | |||
Content | Sexual risk avoidance | No | |||
Content | Sexual orientation | No | |||
Content | Motivational interviewing | No | |||
Content | Contraception - Pills, patches, rings, and shots | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Birth Control Kit | Session 3, Activity A, page 61 - 64; Birth Control Method Handout |
Content | Anatomy/physiology | No | |||
Content | Contraception - Condoms | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Birth Control Kit | Session 3, Activity A, page 61 - 64; Birth Control Method Handout |
Content | Contraception - Long-acting reversible contraceptives | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Birth Control Kit | Session 3, Activity A, page 61 - 64; Birth Control Method Handout |
Content | Contraception - Other | Yes | Yes (both versions) | Birth Control Kit | Session 3, Activity A, page 61 - 64; Birth Control Method Handout |
Content | Puberty/development | No |
Pagination
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AIM4TM is based on the Theory of Possible Selves, which states that a person’s motivation is determined by a balance of positive and negative ways people see themselves in the future. Individuals who are able to imagine both possible positive and negative futures are more likely to work toward their life goals and achieve future success.
AIM4TM emphasizes control over one’s future, connects present actions and reproductive choices with future achievements, and defines motherhood as an identity strength rather than a stigma. Drawing on the Theory of Possible Selves, Promotion-Prevention Motivational Orientations and youth development principles, AIM4TM identifies and builds on teen mothers’ hopes for their future and elicits their motivations for attaining adulthood goals.
The program consists of five main content core elements:
- Thinking about a positive possible future
Through activities, and discussion, youth envision a positive future and set goals to achieve it. - Present actions to achieve future success.
Youth learn communication skills, how to identify their own strengths as well as needed resources and experience a sense of success through engagement in personal and group activities. - Safeguarding one’s future.
Youth are encouraged to safeguard their future through risk reduction. - Creating a reproductive life plan.
The curriculum incorporates knowledge of different methods of contraception and conceptualizes family planning as part of a larger holistic reproductive health agenda. Youth create a personalized reproductive life plans. - Motherhood as an identity strength.
The program acknowledges motherhood as a driving force that motivates many young mothers to succeed in life. Youth are encouraged to consider parenting as adding to the strengths and experiences useful to succeed rather than as a limiting factor in their life.
The program covers the core elements through six individual sessions and two group sessions:
Session 1 - My Future and My Legacy
Session 2 - My Aspirations and Approach to Family Planning
Session 3 - My Aspirational Resume and Birth Control
Session 4 - Planning and Presenting Myself to the World
Group 1 - Claiming my Future
Session 5 - Relationships in My Life
Session 6 - Putting it All Together
Group 2 - Celebration
For the home visits, trained program facilitators (‘advisors’) schedule times to meet with participants in their homes or another location and deliver the six sessions over a roughly 10-week period. The sessions involve a mix of interactive discussion, structured activity worksheets, brainstorming, and role-playing. The two group sessions take place in central community-based locations and bring together small groups of program participants near the middle and at the end of the 10-week program. These sessions reinforce the information provided during the home visits, address realities of teen motherhood, and give participants an opportunity to receive feedback and support from a network of peers.
Participants begin by identifying their future aspirations and choosing a career path to focus on for the purposes of the program. In later sessions, participants write aspirational resumes, draw timelines of their life, and engage in planning for future success. Participants also develop a reproductive life plan that aligns with their present experiences and future goals. Throughout these activities, the participant workbooks require participants to identify current and future achievements, sources of support, and potential “detours” or “roadblocks” to their goals. Near the end of the program, each participant compiles a personal “portfolio” containing the work they accomplished during the program.
- Six 1-hour individual sessions, generally delivered in participants' homes.
- Two 90-minute group sessions, delivered in community-based locations.
- Advisor Handbook
- Implementation Manual and Technical Assistance Guide
- Monitoring and Evaluation Guide
- VB Game Kit (Session 2 & 6)
- Role-Play Scenario Cards & Communication Style Cards (Group 1)
Advisor USB Drive, including:
- Advisor tools: Continuity Sheet, Directory of Images, & Group Evaluation
- Templates: Group 1 Reminder, Group 1 Sign in sheet, Resume, Certificate of Accomplishment, & Certificate of Appreciation
- For Youth: Quotes/Affirmations, Birth Control Sheets, & Web Ticket Guide
Youth-specific Materials
- Participant Workbook
- Key Chains (Session 1)
- Portfolios (Session 6)
- Participant USB Drive (Session 6)
The next two items can be ordered from The Career Game website. For more information on how to order the booklets and Web Ticket, go to www.careergame.com to purchase:
- The Career Game booklet (Session 1)
- Web Ticket (Session 1)
The following materials are not included in the package and will need to be acquired before implementing AIM4TM. These should be included within your budget:
- CDC Developmental Milestones Brochure (available for free) (http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/freematerials.html)
- Arts/Crafts Kit (e.g.: Markers, stickers, scissors, etc.)
- Birth Control Kit (e.g.: Sample Implanon, Birth control pills, etc.)
- Office Supplies (e.g.: Clear Labels, Construction paper, Card stock, etc.)
- Hand held Mirror (Session 5)
Advisors also need access to a computer and a printer with the ability to access the internet.
- Participants should attend at least 5 out of 7 sessions (*not counting the celebration group session)
- All participants must complete Session 1 and Session 2.
- All individual sessions, must be conducted one on one.
- All facilitator staff must be certified through the AIM Service Center with the 3 day training.
- AIM4TM facilitator fidelity monitoring sheets may be used for assessing Advisor (facilitator) performance for each individual and group session as appropriate
Citation | High-Quality Randomized Trial | Moderate-Quality Randomized Trial | Moderate-Quality Quasi-Experiment | Low Study Rating | Did Not Meet Eligibility Criteria |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Covington et al. 2015 Covington et al. 2017 |
✓ |
Citation | Setting | Majority Age Group | Majority Racial/Ethnic Group | Gender | Sample Size |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Covington et al. 2015 Covington et al. 2017 |
Community-based organization, Home-based | 14 to 17 | Hispanic or Latinx of any race | Young women | 800 |
Evidence by Outcome Domain and Study
Citation | Sexual Activity | Number of Sexual Partners | Contraceptive Use | STIs or HIV | Pregnancy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Covington et al. 2015 Covington et al. 2017 |
|
|
|
n.a. |
|
Citation | Details |
---|---|
Covington et al. 2015 Covington et al. 2017 |
The program was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial involving low-income adolescent mothers in Los Angeles County. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving AIM 4 Teen Moms (AIM4TM) or a control group that was not offered the program but that had access to other services for teen mothers in their communities. Outcomes were measured 12 and 24 months after participants enrolled in the study. The study found that 12 months after enrollment, adolescent mothers in the intervention group were less likely to report having had sex without any effective contraceptive method in the past three months (odds ratio = 0.72, confidence interval = 0.61 to 0.85). This effect was not sustained 24 months after enrollment: adolescent mothers in the intervention group were no less likely than their counterparts in the control group to report having had sex without any effective contraceptive method in the past three months (odds ratio = 1.19). Twelve and 24 months after enrollment, the study found no statistically significant program impacts on having had sexual intercourse in the past three months, the number of sexual partners in the past 12 months, or on having sex without using a condom or specific forms or birth control methods such as birth control pills, an implant, any LARC method, an IUD, the shot, the patch, or the ring, in the past three months. At the follow-up that occurred 24 months after enrollment, the study also found no evidence of statistically significant program impacts on repeat pregnancy, the number of pregnancies since birth of first child, and repeat pregnancy resulting in a new birth. Program impacts were also examined on measures of exposure to information about effective contraception, school or work engagement, support for safe sex, and intentions to avoid unprotected sexual activity. Findings for these outcomes were not considered for the review because they fell outside the scope of the review. |