Evaluation of the impact of a 3-year Healthy Futures program on reducing sexual behaviors among middle school students in 15 public middle schools in Haverhill, Lowell, and Lynn, Massachusetts. Student survey data was collected at baseline and immediately after each Nu-CULTURE curriculum (classroom component of Healthy Futures) in the sixth, seventh, and eigth grades, and at a 1-year follow up in the ninth grade.
There was some evidence of delaying sexual initiation by the end of Nu-CULTURE, for girls and Hispanics, but not for boys. Future research should focus on improving implementation of the supplemental components intended to foster interpersonal and environmental protective factors associated with sustained delays in sexual activity.
Research methods and results are presented in the full article, available at American Journal of Public Health
Authors: Tamara Calise, Wendy Chow, Katelyn Dore, Michael O'Brien, Elizabeth Heitz, Rebecca Millock.
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