Evidence-Based Research - 2003/04
The project involved student participants in 20 schools. These results are based on the 1184 (983 treatment, 201 control) students that had matched pretest/posttest scores. In this report the treatment students are considered in two groups depending on whether they attended public or Catholic schools. A 37-item questionnaire including three demographic items was administered before and after the treatment to both groups. Pretest/posttest gain scores for each item were compared by group and tested for significant (p< .05) differences using analysis of variance. These comparisons were followed up with an analysis by gender, to determine if the treatment was especially effective for young men or young women. Because three groups were compared, there are three pairs of comparisons: TCG – Public vs. Control, TCG – Catholic vs. Control and, TCG – Public vs. TCG – Catholic.
Student Demographics by Group
TCG-Public |
TCG-Catholic |
Control |
||||
N |
% |
N |
% |
N |
% |
|
Q01: Gender Female Male |
348 218 |
61 39 |
143 272 |
35 65 |
102 99 |
51 49 |
Q02: Age 12 13 14 15 16 17 |
0 2 195 259 103 7 |
0 0 35 46 18 1 |
105 187 95 25 3 1 |
25 45 23 6 1 0 |
24 48 54 50 14 11 |
12 24 27 25 7 5 |
Q03: Ethnicity White Black Hispanic or Latino Asian Pacific Islander American Indian Arabic Other |
33 316 166 7 2 3 1 35 |
6 56 30 1 0 1 0 6 |
17 286 40 30 8 4 2 28 |
4 69 10 7 2 1 1 7 |
27 43 73 33 2 1 3 16 |
14 22 37 17 0 1 1 8 |
Total |
566 |
100 |
417 |
100 |
201 |
100 |
SIGNIFICANT FINDING
Q06: I make decisions without thinking about the consequences. (reverse scored) |
|||||
All Students |
N |
Pretest Mean |
Posttest Mean |
Significance |
Increase/Decrease |
TCG – Public |
562 |
3.06 |
3.13 |
p = .041 Pub > Cath |
2.3% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
413 |
2.98 |
2.87 |
4% decrease |
|
Control |
200 |
2.91 |
2.95 |
1.4% increase |
|
| Young women | |||||
TCG – Public |
345 |
3.10 |
3.19 |
p = .08 |
3% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
141 |
3.09 |
2.96 |
4% decrease |
|
Control |
101 |
2.88 |
2.97 |
3.1% increase |
|
Young men |
|||||
TCG – Public |
217 |
3.01 |
3.02 |
p = .59 |
.3% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
270 |
2.92 |
2.83 |
3% decrease |
|
Control |
99 |
2.94 |
2.93 |
.5% decrease |
|
SIGNIFICANT FINDING
Q19: It is not a good idea for teenagers to have sex. |
|||||
All Students |
N |
Pretest Mean |
Posttest Mean |
Significance |
Increase/Decrease |
TCG – Public |
556 |
2.82 |
3.09 |
p < .001 Pub > Cath Pub > Ctrl |
9.6% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
409 |
2.93 |
3.00 |
2.4% increase |
|
Control |
200 |
2.82 |
2.83 |
.4% increase |
|
Young women |
|||||
TCG – Public |
339 |
2.99 |
3.26 |
p = .007 Pub > Ctrl |
9% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
141 |
3.15 |
3.25 |
3.2% increase |
|
Control |
102 |
2.94 |
2.94 |
no change |
|
Young men |
|||||
TCG – Public |
217 |
2.54 |
2.82 |
p = .008 Pub > Cath Pub > Ctrl |
11% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
266 |
2.82 |
2.88 |
2% increase |
|
Control |
98 |
2.69 |
2.71 |
.7% increase |
|
SIGNIFICANT FINDING
Q21: Having sexual intercourse can cause a lot of emotional stress for people my age. |
|||||
All Students |
N |
Pretest Mean |
Posttest Mean |
Significance |
Increase/Decrease |
TCG – Public |
559 |
3.14 |
3.35 |
p = .018 Pub > Cath |
6.7% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
412 |
3.18 |
3.23 |
1.6% increase |
|
Control |
199 |
2.98 |
3.10 |
4% increase |
|
Young women |
|||||
TCG – Public |
345 |
3.29 |
3.48 |
p = .28 |
5.8% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
140 |
3.32 |
3.39 |
2.1% increase |
|
Control |
102 |
3.16 |
3.23 |
2.2% increase |
|
Young men |
|||||
TCG – Public |
214 |
2.89 |
3.13 |
p = .034 Pub > Cath |
8.3% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
270 |
3.11 |
3.15 |
1.3% increase |
|
Control |
97 |
2.80 |
2.97 |
6% increase |
|
SIGNIFICANT FINDING
Q27: I plan to avoid drugs and alcohol use because of STD risk. |
|||||
All Students |
N |
Pretest Mean |
Posttest Mean |
Significance |
Increase/Decrease |
TCG – Public |
558 |
3.17 |
3.30 |
p = .044 |
4.1% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
410 |
3.42 |
3.43 |
.3% increase |
|
Control |
201 |
3.24 |
3.18 |
2% decrease |
|
Young women |
|||||
TCG – Public |
341 |
3.14 |
3.35 |
p = .08 |
6.7% increase |
TCG – Catholic |
142 |
3.37 |
3.45 |
2.4% increase |
|
Control |
102 |
3.18 |
3.16 |
.6% decrease |
|
Young men |
|||||
TCG – Public |
2.17 |
3.22 |
3.20 |
p = .73 |
.6% decrease |
TCG – Catholic |
2.66 |
3.45 |
3.42 |
.9% decrease |
|
Control |
99 |
3.31 |
3.20 |
3% decrease |
|
CONCLUSION
As demonstrated through the highlights of some of our 2003-2004 findings in this, The Choice Game™ curriculum study produced significant gains in the treatment group in attitudes that having sex is not a good idea for teenagers, and in knowledge about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, the results regarding intention to avoid drug and alcohol use may reflect an acquisition of new information regarding how substances increase risky behaviors and their inevitable consequences.
These results are promising for the future Character Development education via new computer modalities. The interactive nature of this curriculum on CD-ROM and also on DVD makes it highly attractive and accessible to youth in a variety of environments – one of the greatest challenges that any educational/ behavioral change program faces is reaching a large and diverse population of students. Positive results were gained in student populations in both public and parochial schools, which indicates that abstinence education based on values and decision making skills can serve all students. In addition, the game format allows for privacy and individualization, two important factors when dealing with either classroom environment or individual student session in possibly a guidance office or library setting.
The methodology in which this study was conducted and evaluated increases the significance of the findings. By matching students from pretest to posttest increases the confidence that changes over time are directly attributable to students participating in this curricular intervention. Through utilizing randomly selected treatment and control groups, differences attributed to this group possess great validity. These differences signify that changes in the program outcomes were directly due to the intervention itself and suggest that results should generalize to similar populations.
The Choice Game™ curriculum can be implemented from 7th to 12th grades. Booster classes have also been designed with the goal reinforcing the previous lessons and acquiring better decision making skills. Moreover, a DVD version is available for use in situations where computers are not accessible.