In the USA, persons of Hispanic ethnicity experience higher rates of adolescent pregnancy and STIs than non-Hispanic white youth and there exists a lack of research concerning the sexuality education preferences of Hispanic adolescents. This study describes sexual health education preferences by Hispanic ethnicity among a high-risk sample of young…

School-based sexuality education provides a means of disseminating valuable information about decision making and avoidance of risky behaviors that may result in an unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection; however, effective teacher training is required for efficacious sexuality education programs. The purpose of this paper is to…

"Abstinence-only" sex education, which is still widely used across the United States, does not prepare students to engage in healthy adult relationships. Prior research evidence indicates that abstinence-only education is less effective at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than comprehensive sex education.…

Background: Few HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention programs for youth in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities have been rigorously evaluated despite sexual health disparities in this population. This study reports the evaluation of a culturally adapted Internet-based HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention program for AI/AN youth, Native…

State policy and curriculum standards establish general guidelines regarding sexuality education while local school boards decide how teachers provide sexuality education. Local school districts may utilize programs and speakers from outside organizations and locally produced materials for sexuality education. Purpose: This article examines Texas…

The goal of this paper was to determine the effectiveness of the HIP HOP for HIV Awareness intervention, an innovative model utilising an exchange of an HIV test for a hip hop concert ticket, in a metropolitan city among African American youth and young adults. A subset of intervention participants participated in standardised testing, sex…

Background: The US has higher rates of teen births and sexually transmitted infections (STI) than other developed countries. Texas youth are disproportionately impacted. Purpose: To review local, state, and national data on teens' engagement in sexual risk behaviors to inform policy and practice related to teen sexual health. Methods: 2009 middle…

Background: Despite effective solutions to reduce teen birth rates, Texas teen birth rates are among the highest in the nation. School districts can impact youth sexual behavior through implementation of evidence-based programs (EBPs); however, teen pregnancy prevention is a complex and controversial issue for school districts. Subsequently, very…

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rates in the United States continue unabated among some groups, with young adults of color at greater risk than others. This study sought to determine college students' knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors related to HIV/AIDS. Undergraduate students (N = 443) at a large, urban Hispanic-serving…

Texas is home to over one million Latino teens who are at risk for negative reproductive health outcomes, such as teen pregnancy and STIs. Teen pregnancy disproportionately impacts the health of Latino teens in Texas and places them at risk of continued high rates of poverty, school dropout, and unemployment unless Texas makes a concerted effort…

This document contains an educational resource guide designed to help educators provide relevant education about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to secondary school students in compliance with the Texas State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum. The guide, taking a pragmatic approach that emphasizes a prevention/intervention strategy,…

This report contends that programs teaching teenagers to "just say no" to sex before marriage are threatening adolescent health by censoring basic information about how to prevent HIV/AIDS. The report focuses on federally funded "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs in Texas, where advertising campaigns convey the message…

In this article, the author critiques two current behavioral trends in society among the youth regarding sexuality, namely the abstinence-only viewpoint and hooking-up. He comments that abstinence-only sex education classes seem to focus on and amplify the very dangers that informed students know they can minimize. Moreover, if protecting students…

Until recently, teen pregnancy and birth rates had declined steadily in the United States in recent years. Despite these declines, the United States has the highest teen birth rate and one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among all industrialized nations. To help young people reduce their risk for pregnancy and STIs,…

Until recently, teen pregnancy and birth rates had declined in the United States. Despite these declines, U.S. teen birth and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates remain among the highest in the industrialized world. Given the need to focus limited prevention resources on effective programs, Advocates for Youth undertook exhaustive reviews…