Short-term impact evaluation of Get Real, a comprehensive sex education curriculum for middle school students

Background: Adolescents benefit from exposure to effective sex education before they become sexually active. Get Real is a comprehensive sex education curriculum delivered through nine lessons each in grades 6, 7, and 8. Purpose: To present short-term impact of Get Real on behavioral and attitudinal outcomes after one year of exposure. Significance: Innovative elements such as a focus on relationship skills and family communication activities accompany each lesson. Methodology: The evaluation employs a randomized controlled trial in 23 middle schools in the greater Boston area. Baseline data were collected from 1626 6th graders in 2008-09. Short-term impact data were collected at the beginning of 7th grade. Measures included knowledge, attitudes, and self-reports of sexual behavior. Multilevel regression analysis controlled for the clustered study design by 95 classrooms; all analyses control for baseline responses and Social Desirability as measured in 7th grade. Results: At baseline the sample was 11.92 years old (SD=.62), 53% female, 34% black, 33% Hispanic, and 22% white; 6% of students had engaged in sexual intercourse. (All odds ratios reported did not contain 1 at 95% confidence intervals). After exposure to the 6th grade curriculum, intervention students reported lower initiation rates (OR=.39, p=.001). Control students were less likely to report that they would ask their parents about sex (OR=.65, p=.001), and less likely to report that their parents would discuss sex with them (OR=.71, p=.001). Conclusions: Even one year of exposure to comprehensive sex education appears to delay sexual initiation and increase communication with parents.