Effects of Fear Vs. Norm Appeals in Abstinence Education for Teenagers: Effects of Directive Vs. Cognitively Flexible Designs in Abstinence-Centered ... Sexual Attitudes, Intentions and Behaviors

A vigorous debate as to which educational approaches to educating youth about sexual health would be most effective is ongoing in the U.S., as well as worldwide. A majority of adults and teens agree that schools should give teens a strong message that they should abstain from sex until they are at least out of high school (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2003), yet there is uncertainty as to whether programs that have a strong abstinence message are effective in delaying teen sexual involvement(Hymowitz, 2003; Manlove, Papillo,& Ikramullah, 2004). This study compares the effect of an abstinence-centered sexual health multimedia presentation based on the Health Beliefs model emphasizing the consequences of teen sexual behavior on teens? attitudes and intentions with the impact of a presentation based on a Character Education model that asserts norms of healthy sexual behaviors. It also compares the effects of a multimedia program based on cognitive flexibility theory with the effects of a multimedia program that utilizes a traditional instructive, directive approach.