Who Benefits from School-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs? Examining Multidimensional Moderators of Program Effectiveness Across Four Studies

• Published in: Prevention science Vol. 24; no. 8; pp. 1535 - 1546
• Main Authors: Vasilenko, Sara A., Odejimi, Omolola A., Glassman, Jill R., Potter, Susan C., Drake, Pamela M., Coyle, Karin K., Markham, Christine, Emery, Susan Tortolero, Peskin, Melissa F., Shegog, Ross, Addy, Robert C., Clark, Leslie F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Child and School Psychology; Early Adolescents; Effectiveness; Evaluation research; Health Psychology; Latent class analysis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle School Students; Middle schools; Moderators; Pregnancy; Prevention; Prevention programs; Program Effectiveness; Protective factors; Public Health; Risk; Schools; Sexuality; Student Characteristics; Teenage pregnancy; Integrative data analysis; Sexual initiation; Teen pregnancy prevention programs; Latent class analysis
• ISSN: 1389-4986; 1573-6695
• DOI: 10.1007/s11121-022-01423-y

Recent research has suggested the importance of understanding for whom programs are most effective (Supplee et al., 2013 ) and that multidimensional profiles of risk and protective factors may moderate the effectiveness of programs (Lanza & Rhoades, 2012 ). For school-based prevention programs, moderators of program effectiveness may occur at both the individual and school levels. However, due to the relatively small number of schools in most individual trials, integrative data analysis across multiple studies may be necessary to fully understand the multidimensional individual and school factors that may influence program effectiveness. In this study, we applied multilevel latent class analysis to integrated data across four studies of a middle school pregnancy prevention program to examine moderators of program effectiveness on initiation of vaginal sex. Findings suggest that the program may be particularly effective for schools with USA-born students who speak another language at home. In addition, findings suggest potential positive outcomes of the program for individuals who are lower risk and engaging in normative dating or individuals with family risk. Findings suggest potential mechanisms by which teen pregnancy prevention programs may be effective.