Girl2Girl
The Center for Innovative Public Health Research
Girl2Girl is a 20-week teen pregnancy prevention program delivered via text messaging to cisgender girls between the ages of 14 to 18 who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer ('cisgender' refers to individuals whose current gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth; CDC, 2023). Girl2Girl content focuses on teen pregnancy prevention, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, communication skills, and healthy and unhealthy relationships. In addition to receiving program content, participants have the option to be paired with another participant (a Text Buddy) they can text for support throughout the program.
Girl2Girl was designed for sexually experienced and inexperienced cisgender girls between the ages of 14 to 18 who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer. The program was evaluated with young women between the ages of 14 to 17 who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer.
Girl2Girl is designed for and evaluated in any setting via text messaging. Text messages will be sent only during specified non-school hours.
For curriculum, materials, and pricing information, please contact:
Michele Ybarra, Ph.D., at michele@innovativepublichealth.org.
For training and support, please contact:
Michele Ybarra, Ph.D., at michele@innovativepublichealth.org.
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 only possible response option was “Yes”, and the dosage is described in the Notes when available. For more details, refer to the FAQ.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery mechanism | Other | ||||
| Dosage | Frequency | Yes | Yes | Daily for 7 weeks, then weekly for 3 months, then daily for 1 more week | |
| Dosage | Intensity | Yes | Yes | 8-15 messages a day when daily; 2-3 messages a week when weekly | |
| Dosage | Duration | Yes | Yes | 5 months: 7 weeks + 3 months + 1 week | |
| Dosage | Other | ||||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Mentors | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Community health worker | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Faith-based individual | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Health educator | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Mental health provider | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Parents/family | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Peers | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Primary care provider | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Social worker and/or counselor | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Teachers | No | |||
| Staffing | Deliverer: Other | No | Yes (both versions) | The intervention is delivered by an automated system. No human delivers the content. | |
| Staffing | Experience: Credentials | No | |||
| Staffing | Experience: Education | No | |||
| Staffing | Experience: Other | No | |||
| Staffing | Number of staff providing services | No | The biggest staffing need is monitoring the text buddy component. So it depends on how many teens you have in field at the time | ||
| Staffing | Training: Additional training required | No | |||
| Staffing | Training: Developer-led training required | No | |||
| Staffing | Training: Other | No | |||
| Staffing | Other | No | |||
| Format | Group size: Full-group activity | No | |||
| Format | Group size: Independent/individual activity | No | |||
| Format | Group size: Small-group activity | there is a dyadic text buddy component | |||
| Format | Group size: Other | otherwise, the main program is sent directly to your phone. You do it on your own. | |||
| Format | Mode: In-person | No | |||
| Format | Mode: Phone (audio) | No | |||
| Format | Mode: Phone (text) | Yes | Yes (both versions) | ||
| Format | Mode: Phone (app) | No | |||
| Format | Mode: Online/computer (asynchronous) | No | |||
| Format | Mode: Online/computer (synchronous) | No | |||
| Format | Mode: Other | No | |||
| Format | Other | No | |||
| Context | Context: Environmental supports | No | |||
| Context | Context: Environmental constraints | No | |||
| Context | Context: Other | No | |||
| Context | Setting: After school | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Community based | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Correctional facility | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Faith based | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Health care clinic | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Home-based case management | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Home/housing | No | |||
| Context | Setting: In school (during the school day) | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Mental health clinic | No | |||
| Context | Setting: Residential facility | No | |||
| Context | Setting: School-based health clinic | No |
The goal of Girl2Girl is to provide content on teen pregnancy prevention, STI, communication skills, and healthy and unhealthy relationships to cisgender girls between the ages of 14 to 18 who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer.
Girl2Girl content focuses on teen pregnancy prevention and is guided by the Information-Motivation-Behavioral model. Topics covered through scripted text messages include male and female condom use and access, types of birth control, healthy and unhealthy relationships, and prevention of unintended pregnancy and STI. Additional content includes topics and scenarios relevant to sexual decision making. The program’s content is tailored based on sexual experience and sexual identity. In addition to receiving program content, participants are paired with another participant (a Text Buddy) they can text for support throughout the program.
The program is delivered through text messages.
Girl2Girl is a 20-week teen pregnancy prevention program. During the first seven weeks of programming, participants receive four to 12 text messages per day. They then receive one message two or three days per week for the following 12 weeks. The final week of programming is the booster period, which is intended for review of content delivered during program delivery. Participants receive eight to 15 messages during the one-week booster period. All Text Buddy messages are run through a server to protect participants’ privacy.
Staffing needed to implement the program includes staff to monitor the Text Buddy conversations, answer participant questions, and recruit and enroll participants.
Formal staff training is not required to implement the program. Staff will monitor the Text Buddy conversations, answer participant questions, and recruit and enroll participants.
Participants are required to have access to a text-capable phone. Unlimited text messaging plans are encouraged but not required.
None.
The developer will ensure when text messages are sent and their receipt by the intended recipient.
Girl2Girl is a texting intervention; typically, implementers do not need technical assistance or ongoing support during program implementation. However, implementers can contact Michele Ybarra at michele@innovativepublichealth.org if there is a need for technical assistance or ongoing support.
Adaptations are allowed in consultation with the developer. To discuss adaptations, contact Michele Ybarra at michele@innovativepublichealth.org.
| Citation | High-Quality Randomized Trial | Moderate-Quality Randomized Trial | Moderate-Quality Quasi-Experiment | Low Study Rating | Did Not Meet Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ybarra 2021 Ybarra 2023 Ybarra 2023b |
✓ |
| Citation | Setting | Majority Age Group | Majority Racial/Ethnic Group | Gender | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ybarra 2021 Ybarra 2023 Ybarra 2023b |
Texting | 14 to 17 | White | Young women | 948 |
Evidence by Outcome Domain and Study
| Citation | Sexual Activity | Number of Sexual Partners | Contraceptive Use | STIs or HIV | Pregnancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ybarra 2021 Ybarra 2023 Ybarra 2023b |
|
n.a. |
|
n.a. |
|
| Citation | Details |
|---|---|
Ybarra 2021 Ybarra 2023 Ybarra 2023b |
The program was evaluated using a randomized control trial involving cisgender female youth ages 14 to 18 identifying as not exclusively heterosexual, who were recruited across the United States through Facebook and Instagram advertisements. Participants were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that received the 20-week Girl2Girl program or a control group that received similarly intense text messaging for the same length of time with content that was not focused on preventing teen pregnancy. Surveys were administered immediately after enrollment, which was right before the program started (baseline), immediately after the 20-week program ended (five months after study enrollment), and then three months, six months, nine months, and 12 months since program end (eight months, 11 months, 14 months, and 17 months after study enrollment). The study found that at program end, teen girls participating in the program reported having used condoms while having sex significantly more often than the control group had in the past three months (effect size = 0.03) and reported significantly fewer sex acts without a condom in the past three months (effect size = -0.05). Those program effects held for the full sample and the subgroup that was sexually active at baseline (effect sizes = 0.05 and -0.29, respectively, for the subgroup on condom use during sex and having fewer sex acts without a condom). The study also found that at program end, teen girls participating in the program and those in the control group were not significantly different from each other in their reporting of abstaining from penile-vaginal sex in the past three months. Those null findings held for the full sample and the subgroup that was sexually active at baseline. In addition, the study found that for the full sample and the sexually active subgroup, at program end, teen girls participating in the program and those in the control group were not significantly different from each other in their report of pregnancy since program enrollment. The study also examined program impacts at three, six, nine, and 12 months after the program ended on several sexual behavior outcomes for the full sample as well as some subgroups. Findings for these outcomes were not considered because of the inclusion of a covariate that could have been affected by the program, introducing a concern about endogeneity. Additionally, the study examined program impacts on current birth control use (outside of sexual activity), intentions to use condoms, intentions to use birth control, and intentions to abstain from sex. Findings for these outcomes were not considered because they fell outside the scope of the review. |