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Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART)

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART) is a group-level, education and behavior skills training intervention designed to reduce risky sexual behaviors and improve safer sex skills among African American adolescents. The 8 intervention sessions, delivered to groups of 5-15 youth, provide information on HIV and related risk behaviors and the importance of abstinence and risk reduction.

Through discussions, games, videos, presentations, demonstrations, role plays, and practice, adolescents learn problem solving, decision-making, communication, condom negotiation, behavioral self-management, and condom use skills. The participants also have a discussion with local, HIV-positive youth to promote risk recognition and improve their perception of vulnerability.

Goal / Mission

The goals of this intervention include: increasing information and skills to make sound choices, increasing abstinence, and eliminating or reducing sex risk behaviors.

Impact

Among teens who participated, there was a decrease in sexual activity compared to those who did not participate in the program. Also among participants, there was an increase in sexual intercourse occasions that were condom-protected.

Results / Accomplishments

The program was evaluated using an experimental study design with randomly assigned intervention and control groups. Overall, a significantly lower percentage of intervention youth reported being sexually active compared to comparison youth at the 12 month follow-up. Sexually active intervention youth reported a significantly greater percentage of sexual intercourse occasions that were condom-protected than comparison youth at the 6-month and 12-month follow-ups.

The portion of youth who participated in the program were significantly less sexually active (p<.05).

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
ETR Associates and Mississippi State University-Meridian
Primary Contact
Janet S. St. Lawrence, Ph.D.
Mississippi State University, Meridian
1000 Highway 19 North
Meridian, MS 39307
jlawrence@meridian.msstate.edu
http://meridian.msstate.edu/
Topics
Health / Family Planning
Health / Adolescent Health
Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Organization(s)
ETR Associates and Mississippi State University-Meridian
Source
CDC
Date of publication
1995
Location
Jackson, Mississippi
For more details
Target Audience
Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities