Study Details

Citation

Philliber, A.E. Philliber, S. (2016). Evaluation of the Teen Outreach Program® in Kansas City, Missouri. Accord, NY: Philliber Research Evaluation.

Program or Component Study?
Program
Program or Component Name

Teen Outreach Program (TOP)

Show Evidence of Effectiveness
No
Study Rating and Explanation
Moderate —

Random assignment study that did not meet the criteria for a high rating but met the criteria for a moderate rating; findings show no positive, statistically significant impact on a relevant behavioral outcome measure for either the full sample or key subgroup

Program Information

Program Type
Positive youth development
Program Length
More than 20 sessions

Evaluation Setting

Evaluation Setting
In school: High school

Study Sample

Average Age Group
14 to 17
Majority Racial/Ethnic Group
African American or Black
Gender
Youth of any gender

Research Design

Assignment Method
Cluster randomized controlled trial
Sample Size

934

Number of Follow-Ups

1

Length of Last Follow-Up

12

Year of Last Data Collection
2014

Study Findings

Result Sexual Activity
Indeterminate evidence
Result Contraceptive Use
Indeterminate evidence
Reviewed Studies
Moderate-Quality Randomized Trial
Protocol Version
Version 5.0
Details

Another recent study evaluated the program among a sample of 934 middle and high school students in Kansas City, Missouri. The study used a cluster randomized controlled trial that involved the 98 classrooms of 17 teachers from 12 middle and high schools. Classrooms were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that received TOP or a control group that received the regular classroom curriculum from their existing core content class teachers. Surveys were administered before the program started (baseline), and again 12 months after the program ended.

The study findings failed to replicate the favorable impact on sexual activity rates found in the earlier study by Daley et al. (2015). In particular, 12 months after the end of the program the study found that adolescents in the group receiving TOP were no less likely than adolescents in the control group to report ever having sex (odds ratio = 0.96). The study also found no evidence of statistically significant program impacts on having sexual intercourse without using any method of birth control in the last three months. The study did not measure program impacts on pregnancy.

Effect Sizes
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NA = Not available. This means the authors did not report the information in the manuscripts associated with the studies we reviewed.

a This information was not available whenever authors did not report information for the treatment and comparison groups separately on outcome means, standard deviations, and/or sample sizes.

b Authors reported that the program effect (impact) estimate is statistically significant with a p-value of less than 0.05 based on a two-tailed test.

c For some outcomes, having less of that outcome is favorable. In those cases, an effect with a negative sign is favorable to the treatment group (that is, the treatment group had a more favorable outcome than the comparison group, on average).

d An effect shows credibly estimated, statistically significant evidence whenever it has a p-value of less than 0.05 based on a two-tailed test, includes the appropriate adjustment for clustering (if applicable), and it is not based on an endogenous subgroup.