$3 MILLION STUDY LISTENS TO GIRLS TO TACKLE TEEN PREGNANCY RATE

$3 MILLION STUDY LISTENS TO GIRLS TO TACKLE TEEN PREGNANCY RATE
Program evaluation to help understand how to address teen pregnancy dilemma

NEW YORK, NY

Sept. 6, 2000

Girls Incorporated® a national nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, will embark on a five-year, $3-million study to evaluate the success of its widely recognized pregnancy prevention program.

The study, “Girls Shape the Future,” will track—over a five-year period—the life-planning decisions and risk behaviors of 1,000 middle school girls. Five hundred girls, ages 12 to 14, will enroll in Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy(SM) while the other half will participate in the study but not the programs.

Many of the girls in the pregnancy-prevention program will also participate in other Girls Inc. programs focused on various subjects including math, science, sports, and personal finance.

The goals of the study are to pinpoint effective ways for teenage women to reduce risky behavior and ultimately to improve Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy and other Girls Inc. intervention programs.

“While adolescent pregnancy is recognized as a significant social problem, we are still working to understand how to solve it,” said Dr. Heather Johnston Nicholson, Director of Research for Girls Incorporated. “Girls Inc. philosophy is that young women are entitled to high expectations, accurate information, and adult support to help them avoid pregnancy and achieve their full potential.”

Under contract with Girls Inc., Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) — a research firm based in Princeton NJ -- will evaluate the Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy program at schools and community centers in three cities where Girls Inc. affiliates provide the program.

“We are pleased to be working with Girls Inc. on this landmark study,” said MPR Vice President Embry Howell, Ph.D. “This rigorous evaluation will add objective information to the debate about how to support young people's decision making.”

Recently, demand for Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy has soared at Girls Incorporated® of Tarrant County, TX and of Greater Atlanta, GA. Selected girls at schools and Girls Inc. centers in the cities of Arlington and Ft. Worth, TX and Atlanta, GA will be asked to participate in the program evaluation.

Using a lottery, girls in the study will be assigned to two groups; one group will fill the available spaces in the program and enroll in Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy and the other group will comprise girls who could not be accommodated because of space limitations.

This excess demand will allow chance to determine which group a girl is placed in — the process preferred by social scientists for studies of this type.

Throughout the course of the study, girls in both groups will be surveyed three times about their choices regarding their future and sexual activity — at the beginning, in the third year and again in the final year.

Nicholson says “research indicates that some programs directed at pregnancy prevention can be helpful, and that some programs directed at increasing skills and connecting young people to the wider world also help young people avoid early pregnancy.”

The study will help “tease apart the factors that best equip young women for positive choices and promising futures,” she added.

The effort is being funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, a private family foundation based in California; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, NJ, the nation's largest philanthropic institution devoted exclusively to health and health care; and the Smith Richardson Foundation.

Since 1989 Girls Inc. and it affiliates have offered components of the Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy program to help girls develop their skills for recognizing and resisting sexual pressure, while also providing them with information they need about avoiding sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy.

Currently, Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy is offered at community centers and schools in 130 communities. Since its inception it has served over 200,000 young women nationwide.

Through four distinct curricula—tailored for different age groups—the program first teaches elementary school girls and their parents to communicate about sensitive issues such as puberty, sexuality, and family and personal values. It also targets middle school girls to give them the tools to empower themselves and to resist sexual pressure. And it teaches high school-aged women about recognizing their potential and planning for the future. Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy also arms girls with knowledge about various health services, including reproductive health.