Study Details

This study evaluated the program with a clustered randomized controlled trial involving 14 elementary and middle schools in rural northwestern Indiana. Schools were randomly assigned within matched pairs to either a treatment group that offered the Positive Potential program or to a control group that offered their standard instruction. The Positive Potential program is a three-year program, offered in three middle school grades, where each grade level has a separate curriculum. Surveys were administered immediately before the program in 6th grade, and at three follow-ups: (1) about 12 months later at the start of 7th grade, (2) three months after the end of the three-year program, and (3) 12 months after the end of the program, in spring of 9th grade.

The study found that at the start of 7th grade, students in the schools that offer the program were statistically significantly less likely to report ever having sex (odds ratio = 0.28, confidence interval = 0.15 to 0.55) and to report having had sex in the previous three months (odds ratio = 0.21, confidence interval = 0.09 to 0.46). The study also found that a smaller proportion of male students in the schools providing the program reported ever having sex (odds ratio = 0.08, confidence interval = 0.04 to 0.16) and reported having had sex in the previous three month (odds ratio = 0.08 confidence interval = 0.03 to 0.21).

Those program effects persisted 12 months after the program ended, in spring of 9th grade: in schools that implemented Positive Potential, both the full sample of students and the subgroup of males were significantly less likely to ever have had sexual intercourse (odds ratio is 0.78 for the full sample and 0.67 for the subgroup of males) and to have had sexual intercourse in the last 12 months (odds ratio is 0.76 for the full sample and 0.65 for the subgroup of males). Twelve months after the end of the program, the subgroup of males in the schools implementing Positive Potential were significantly less likely to have had sexual intercourse in the last three months than their counterparts in the schools not implementing the program (odds ratio = 0.62).

Program impacts were also examined on having sexual intercourse in the past three month without using a condom and without using birth control at the start of the 7th grade and in the spring of 9th grade, and on the number of sexual partners in the spring of 9th grade. The study found no evidence of statistically program impacts on those measures at any of those follow-ups. The study also found no evidence of statistically significant program impacts on any sexual behavior outcome for the full sample at the follow-up conducted three months after the end of the program nor for the subgroup of female adolescents at any of the three follow-ups.

In the follow-up that occurred at the start of 7th grade, the study also examined program impacts on risky behavior during sexual intercourse in the previous three months, defined as either not using a condom, not using birth control, using drugs, or using alcohol during sex. Findings for this outcome were not considered for the review because they fell outside the scope of the review.