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  1. FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND DECISION-MAKING

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND DECISION-MAKING

Kan, M. L., & Ramirez, D. D. (2019). Preventing repeat teen pregnancy: A multisite analysis of the roles of goal orientation and social supports.

This study examined whether changes in goal orientation (e.g., future aspirations, decision-making, goal setting) or social supports would contribute to the positive effects of the federally-funded Title XX Adolescent Family Life Program, which aimed to prevent repeat teen pregnancies. While the study looked at the potential effects of orientation to goals and social supports on repeat teen pregnancies and the use of long-acting, reversible contraception (LARC), it did not find that either had any significant program effects. However, it did find that receiving support from the participant’s father was associated with higher LARC use. Associations between support from the child’s father and LARC use may reflect that teens in stable, long-term relationships were more likely to choose long-acting methods of contraception.


Widman, L., Evans, R. , Javidi, H., & Choukas-Bradley, S. (2019). Parent-based interventions to improve adolescent sexual health: A meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis focused on the question: Are parent-based sexual health interventions effective at improving adolescent sexual health outcomes? The main youth outcomes included were delayed sexual activity, condom use, and parent-child sexual communication. The analysis included 31 studies that examined parent-based sexual health interventions. Results showed modest evidence to support that parent-based sexual health programs can promote safer sex behavior and understanding in adolescents. In particular, parent-based interventions were shown to improve both adolescent condom use and parent-child sexual communication compared to control or comparison groups that did not receive these interventions. However, there was no significant effect of these parent-based interventions on delaying adolescents’ sexual activity. This study highlights several areas where future programs could place additional attention to enhance intervention effectiveness, such as focusing on younger adolescents, increasing cultural tailoring in programming, and ensuring delivery of a sufficient amount of programming.