October 16, 2007
Media Stories
Over 1 Million Young Californians With Sexually Transmitted Infections Says New Study
Medical News Today, October 11, 2007
Sex Talk: Parents Learn To Chat With Kids About Sexuality
The Hilton Head-Bluffton (SC) Island Packet, October 8, 2007
Updating Abstinence Education Materials in Schools
The Charlotte (NC) Observer, October 7, 2007
Dads Help Daughters Pledge 'Sexual Purity'
Arizona Daily Star, October 7, 2007
Adolescents to Parents: Its Our Facebook
USA Today, October 3, 2007
Protecting Girls From Sexualisation in the Media
Medical News Today, October 3, 2007
Students Teach Consequences of Premarital Sex
Layfette (IN) Journal and Courier, October 1, 2007
Does Abstinence Education Work?
Newport News (VA) Daily Press, September 30, 2007
Cumberland County Uses Celebrities To Promote Abstinence
The Fayetteville (NC) Observer, September 27, 2007
Girls' Friendships Can Prevent Dating Abuse
LiveScience.com, September 26, 2007
Class Helps Parents Talk About Sex
Burlington (NC) Times News, September 26, 2007
Is It Just Adolescent Angst, or Something More?
USA Today, September 26, 2007
Funding Opportunities
The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth maintains a listing of organizations identified as potential funding sources for abstinence education programs. The listing includes grant descriptions and contact information.
Topfer Family Foundation (Chicago, Illinois, and Austin, Texas)
The Topfer Family Foundation is committed to helping at-risk youth prepare for self-sufficient, fulfilling lives. The foundation funds initiatives that promote education, build self-confidence, provide positive development and enrichment opportunities, and help youth develop practical life skills. Deadline: Applications are accepted throughout the year and considered in the order they are received. Decisions are made at the board of directors' quarterly meetings, generally held in March, June, September, and December. Applicants are encouraged to submit requests as early as possible before each meeting.
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta's competitive grants program offers grants between $5,000 and $25,000 to nonprofit organizations working in 23 counties in the greater Atlanta, Georgia, area. Major program areas include education, health, and human services. The foundation focuses on children, youth, families, health, and wellness and accepts grant proposals in January and July of each year. Deadline: January 25, 2008.
Recent Research
Onset of Sexual Intercourse Among Female Adolescents: The Influence of Perceptions, Depression and Ecological Factors (2007)
The authors of this journal article, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health [Volume 41(4):398-406], examined how perceptions of sex, depression, and other personal and social factors influenced onset of sexual intercourse during maturation among adolescent girls. The findings of the study show that closer relationships with one's father, peers, and school environment and ambivalent perceptions of sex were associated with delaying sexual intercourse among non-depressed adolescents. The study's results also indicate that a closer maternal relationship can help delay the onset of sexual intercourse among depressed adolescent girls, but depressed adolescent girls who had absent fathers and did not feel connected to their schools were more likely to have sex.
Risk and Rationality in Adolescent Decision Making: Implications for Theory, Practice, and Public Policy (2006)
The authors of this journal article, published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest [Volume 7(1):1-44], explore the question of whether adolescents are developmentally competent to make decisions about risks.They assert that any program designed to prevent or change adolescent risk-taking behaviors should include what is normative (what behaviors, ideally, should the program foster?), descriptive (how are adolescents making decisions in the absence of the program?), and prescriptive (which practices can realistically move adolescent decisions closer to the normative ideal?).
Risk and Protective Factors Associated With the Transition to a First Sexual Relationship With an Older Partner (2007)
In this study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health [Volume 40(2):135-143], researchers examined whether adolescents' family, individual, peer, and school characteristics are associated with the transition to a first sexual experience with a partner 3 or more years older. The authors concluded that adolescents who were younger or foreign-born, whose parents had lower educational levels, who had older friends, or who attended a school that included multiple grade levels had greater odds of having sexual experiences with older partners rather than with similar-aged partners. Based on their results, the researchers stressed the importance of educating adolescents about the risks associated with dating and sexual relationships with older partners, as well as of educating parents about their need to know their adolescent's circle of friends.
A Computer-Based Abstinence Curriculum Shows Promise (2007)
The authors of this journal article, published in the California Journal of Health Promotion [Volume 5(1):55-61], examined the effects of the Choice Game, an abstinence-until-marriage education program, on students in five outcome areas: knowledge, family communication, attitude toward abstinence, behavioral intent, and abstinence until marriage. Compared to control group participants, students in the program showed significantly greater gains in all five outcomes.
Upcoming Events
Teleconference: How To Bring Marriage Education Into Schools
Smart Marriages: The Coalition for Marriage, Family, and Couples Education
October 16, 2007
9–10 p.m. (EST)
Marriage education experts M.P. Wylie and Marc Payn discuss innovative strategies for bringing marriage education for parents into schools. The strategies are based on their success in low-income, high–Hispanic population schools in California.
Contact: To participate in the free teleconference, call (712) 432-9998, access code #498485.
New CBAE-Funded Grantees Orientation Training via Conference Call
1 p.m.–2 p.m., October 30, 2007,
Registration: TBA
Contact: abstinence@pal-tech.com
National Abstinence Education Grantees Conference
January 28–30, 2008
Baltimore, MD
Registration: TBA
Contact: abstinence@pal-tech.com
Abstinence Education Grantees Regional Training
CBAE grantees and State Title V Coordinators in Regions 5 through 7
April 2–3, 2008
Dallas, TX
Registration: TBA
Contact: abstinence@pal-tech.com
Abstinence Education Grantees Regional Training
CBAE grantees and State Title V Coordinators in Regions 8 through 10
May 14–15, 2008
Denver, CO
Registration: TBA
Contact: abstinence@pal-tech.com
Abstinence Education Grantees Regional Training
CBAE grantees and State Title V Coordinators in Regions 1 through 4
June 23–24, 2008
Philadelphia, PA
Registration: TBA
Contact: abstinence@pal-tech.com
Employment Opportunities
Abstinence Education Curriculum Reviewer – Medical Accuracy
The Family and Youth Services Bureau is seeking a medical doctor or registered nurse to conduct a review to determine medical accuracy in curricula identified by Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) grant applicants for use in their abstinence education programs. Please direct questions and submit resumes to tbrown@dixongroup.com or fax to (202) 269-9575.
Spotlight
The Louisiana Governor's Program on Abstinence takes a multi-faceted approach to providing abstinence education to Louisiana's young people. The program consists of the following:
- an abstinence-until-marriage curriculum for junior high, high school, and college-age students;
- separate clubs for high school and college students;
- a clearinghouse and Web site;
- teacher certification; and
- community-based projects.
The five components of the program encompass a wide range of activities that involve thousands of Louisiana citizens. The Governor's Program on Abstinence comes under the authority of the Governor's Office of Community Programs.
Quote for the Day
"Sexuality includes our values. It doesn't exclude it."
(Sunshine Patterson, community health educator for Planned Parenthood’s "R U An Askable Parent?" program, speaking to parents at the Bluffton, South Carolina, Boys & Girls Club, The Hilton Head-Bluffton (SC) Island Packet, October 8, 2007) |
