Evaluation of the High School Relationship Curriculum Connections: Dating and Emotions
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Evaluation of the High School Relationship Curriculum Connections: Dating and Emotions Anne Sparks • Mingun Lee • Solveig Spjeldnes
Published online: 19 August 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
Abstract Interest in relationship education for high school students has grown since the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 provided funding for Healthy Marriage Initiative programs. This study used a pretest and posttest design and measures of relationship knowledge and attitudes to evaluate a relationship curriculum taught in required health education classes to a sample of 139 students. Comparison of students’ pretest and posttest scores showed slight gains in knowledge about relationships. Analysis based on characteristics associated with risk and protective factors for relationship outcomes (gender, academic performance and parental divorce history) found significant differences. Implications for expanding high school relationship education and recommendations for social work involvement in these programs are discussed. Keywords Relationship education Adolescence Program evaluation Dating relationships Dating abuse
Introduction During the last two decades, concerns about the increase in single parent families and rising rates of nonmarital childbearing have led to policy initiatives to encourage marriage. The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 allocated $150 million per year for Healthy Marriage Initiative (HMI) programs which include relationship education for high school youth (National Healthy Marriage Resource Center [NHMRC] 2010). The NHMRC (Myrick et al. 2010) describes relationship education as ‘‘focused on skill building, interpersonal skills, safety, knowing oneself and setting the stage for healthy marriage’’ (p. 2). About one-third of Healthy Marriage Initiative (HMI) A. Sparks (&) M. Lee S. Spjeldnes Department of Social Work, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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grantees provide such education to high school students (NHMRC 2010). Relationship-focused education has immediate relevance for adolescents, as well as potential to influence their future, because romantic and sexual relationships expose youth to risks such as physical and emotional abuse, psychological distress, unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (Kerpelman et al. 2009). Recognizing the prevalence of dating abuse and the harm it causes, twelve states currently mandate or recommend relationship education as an intervention to prevent dating violence (Break the Cycle 2010). Intervention that leads to positive relationship outcomes during adolescence when identity is forming and the capacity for intimacy is shaped seems highly desirable (Kerpelman et al. 2009). However, little is known about the effectiveness of relationship curricula for this population (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE] 2008; Myrick et al. 2010). In existing studies of relationship education for teens, evaluations were conducted with students in electi
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