Between Acceptance and Rejection: How Gender Influences the Implementation Climate of a School Sexuality Education Program

The implementation climate is the shared reception of the individuals involved in the intervention; it is a fundamental determinant of the success of program implementation. One of the factors that affects the implementation climate is gender, since it can influence the commitment of the participants toward sexuality education. This study aims to identify the implementation climate for students who receive a school sexuality education program and explore whether their gender is related to the acceptance of the intervention. A selective quantitative method was used, and a survey was designed to measure implementation climate. A confirmation factorial analysis (CFA) using Mplus 7.0 was conducted to establish the structure of the instrument. A cluster analysis was performed to determine levels of implementation climate. To measure the association between participants’ gender and the implementation climate, a Chi-square analysis was performed between each cluster, the gender of the students and each cluster and the type of school (single-sex girls’ schools, single-sex boys’ schools and co-educational schools). The results demonstrated four levels of implementation climate: acceptance, receptivity, conflict and rejection. Significant differences were observed in the relationship between these levels and the gender of the participants. Acceptance was associated with single-sex girls’ schools and female students, conflict and rejection were associated with a single-sex boys’ schools and male students, and co-educational schools were associated with conflict. This shows that there is a relationship between the different levels of the implementation climate and the gender.

Evaluation of effectiveness of a sexuality education program for parents of male adolescents: promoting of parent–adolescent sexual communication

ObjectivesParents play a significant role in promoting of healthy sexuality in adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of a sexuality education intervention program to enhance parent–adolescent sexual communication.MethodsThis study was a randomized controlled field trial. Parents of male adolescent aged 13–16 years were recruited from eight public all-boys high schools in Karaj, Iran. A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was used and 102 parents were assigned into intervention and control groups. The recruitment and data collection process lasted from February to November 2019. Self-report demographic questionnaire and six general parenting and parent–adolescent sexual communication measures were used to assess the impact of intervention. Sexuality education program was presented for the parents of intervention group, in the form of four weekly 2-h sessions. Parents were assessed at the baseline, within one week post-intervention, and three-month follow-up to evaluate the outcome variables. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, two-sample t-test, general linear model analyses, and Bonferroni test.ResultsIn terms of parent–adolescent general communication, parental monitoring, parent–adolescent communication about sex-related topics, parent’s sexual communication skills, parent’s self-efficacy, and responsiveness to sexual communication. There were no significant differences between intervention and control groups at the baseline (p>0.05). Compared to controls, intervention parents reported more improvement in general communication across the time; however, significant differences were not observed regarding general communication and parental monitoring (p=0.94, p=0.95). Parents in the intervention group significantly differed from those in the control group for the mean scores of parent–adolescent communication about sex-related topics (p=0.04), parent’s sexual communication skills (p=0.04), parent’s self-efficacy (p=0.002), and responsiveness (p<0.001) to sexual communication at each follow-up.ConclusionsWe identified the educational program as a promising tool for improving parent–adolescent communication regarding sexuality-related issues. This program provides the evidence for implementation of parent-based sexuality education programs.

Effects of a life skills-based sexuality education program on Korean early adolescents

We verified the effectiveness of a life skills-based sexuality education program that involved applying learner-centered principles among South Korean upper elementary grade students. We developed an 8-session program to improve sexuality knowledge and the sexual behaviors of adolescents through gaining practical skills applicable to daily life. Participants were 68 students at a school located in Seoul and we analyzed their data using a 1-sample t test to determine the effectiveness of the proposed intervention program. The results showed that the proposed program increased the sexuality knowledge and interpersonal skills of the adolescents; however, the improvement in sexual attitude was not statistically significant. This study is significant as the program is the first life skills-based sexuality education course developed for use with elementary school students in Korea. Our program could be used in developing a learner-centered sexuality education program applicable to real-life situations.