United States. Department of Health and Human Services, issuing body.
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, issuing body.
United States. Office of Adolescent Health, issuing body.
Abt Associates, issuing body.
This research brief highlights findings from the evaluation of ¡Cuídate!, an HIV/AIDS prevention program culturally tailored to Latino youth. The findings are based on two follow-up surveys administered to study participants six and 18 months after they enrolled in the study. The study is designed to examine the impact of ¡Cuídate! on adolescent sexual behavior as well as on cognitive and psychological aspects of adolescent functioning that might influence that behavior. The study included data from three different replications of ¡Cuídate!. Summary of Findings. After 18 months ¡Cuídate! had no statistically significant impact on the five primary behavioral outcome measures: sexual activity in the last 90 days (at 6 and 18 months), sexual intercourse without birth control in the last 90 days (at 6 and 18 months) and unplanned pregnancy at any time since entry into the study. However, exploratory analyses revealed significant differences among certain subgroups. After 6 months, the program had significant unintended effects on sexual behavior among White youth and youth who were sexually experienced at baseline. These differences did not persist at the longer-term follow-up. In the short term, ¡Cuídate! demonstrated positive effects on some intermediate outcomes, namely knowledge about pregnancy risk and STI risk and attitudes towards sexual risk behaviors, as well as perceived negotiation skills. Some, though not all, of these effects were sustained through the long-term follow-up. There were no program effects on motivation or on intentions to engage in sexual behaviors in the following year at either time point.
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