As of 2006, pregnancy rates and STDs were very high, despite the general decline in teen pregnancy in the United States. In other developed countries, teen pregnancies were much lower than those of the U.S, although STD contraction remained a growing problem. The study discussed in this article was performed in all 83 countries with youth up to the age of 25, in order to see the effectiveness of HIV and Sex Education programs on youth behavior and on pregnancy and STD contraction rates. This research project collected studies that had already been performed on the same topic and analyzed them. The studies had to be published after 1991, have a experimental or quasi-experimental design, with sample sizes that were at least over a 100, and measured the impact of sex education and HIV education on sexual behaviors. These studies were analyzed and effects on behavior were only considered significant if the P<.05.

A three step process was used to identify common characteristics of programs that effected behavior. The first was to generate a list of potentially important characteristics, the second to generate a list of common curriculum content, which were then coded  and used for the third, which was the determination of the process of designing and implementing the effective curricula. The results were as follows: “52% [of effective programs] focused on preventing only STD/HIV, 31% focused on preventing both STD/HIV and pregnancy, and 17% focused only on teen pregnancy . . . Only 7% of the programs were abstinence-only programs. All of these were in the United States . . . More than four fifths of the programs (83%) identified one or more theories that formed the basis for their programs, and often specified particular psychosocial mediating factors to be changed. Social learning theory and its sequel, social cognitive theory, formed the basis for more than half (54%) of the interventions. Related theories identifying some of the same mediating factors were mentioned by substantial percentages of other studies: theory of reasoned action (19%); health belief model (12%); theory of planned behavior (10%); and the information, motivation, and behavioral skills model (10%). Nearly all (90%) of the interventions included at least two different interactive activities designed to involve youth and help them personalize the information (e.g., role playing, simulations or individual worksheets that applied lessons to their lives). Finally, at least 90% of the programs trained their educators before the educators implemented curriculum activities.”

Overall the studies showed that education systems that incorporated sex education and HIV prevention curriculum into the lesson plans for youth had positive behavior outcomes rather than negative ones. It was found that an individual program could many times have the capacity to decrease sexual activity in teens while increase the use of condoms and contraceptives in regards to youth’s sexual activity. The results were consistent in developed and developing countries, with low income and middle income youth, with urban and rural  youth, with boys and girls, and with different age groups.

The article includes a table, that was very useful for my own research into California sex education curriculum, into the subjects broached in successful sex education programs.

Kirby, D., Rolleri, L. 2007, “Sex and HIV Education Programs: Their Impact on Sexual Behaviors of Young People Throughout the World.” Journal of Adolescent Health (40). 206-217.