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Preparing young people for unanticipated and unplanned sexual encounters: A theory- and evidence-based approach to program development in the context of safe sex

Projectomschrijving

Condooms zijn effectief in het voorkomen van seksueel overdraagbare aandoeningen en ongewenste zwangerschappen bij jongeren. Maar weinig jongeren slagen er in condooms te gebruiken, ondanks hun intenties om dit wel te doen. Het lespakket Lang Leve de Liefde blijkt effectief in het motiveren van jongeren om veilige seks te hebben. Maar dergelijke lespakketten blijken niet effectief in het daadwerkelijk gebruik van condooms. Jongeren hebben vaak onverwacht seks, waardoor zij toch onveilig vrijen. Doel van dit project was om een aanvullend preventieprogramma te ontwikkelen en evalueren, dat aansluit bij Lang Leve de Liefde. Het aanvullend programma richt zich op anticipatie en voorbereiding op onverwachte seks. Jongeren leren alternatieve strategieën toe te passen, wanneer hun plannen om veilig te vrijen anders uitpakken dan zij hadden verwacht.

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Samenvatting van de aanvraag

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are an important health treat for young people. Condoms are effective tools to prevent young people for STDs or unwanted pregnancies, but many young people fail to use them. STD prevention programs have mainly focused on motivating sexually inexperienced young people to use condoms. In the Netherlands, an STD prevention program, called Long Live Love (LLL), is widely used among young people of pre-vocational secondary education and has shown to be effective in motivating young people to have safe sex (Schaalma et al., 1996; RNG, 2002). But such programs are not very effective in establishing actual condom use among youth (Kirby, 2002; VanWesenbeeck et al., 2003; Wright, 2000). Often young people engage in unprotected sex, because they have not planned to have sex at all (Gibbons et al., 1998; Van Empelen & Kok, 2004). This project aims at extending the current LLL program with coping planning and action planning to ensure that young people are prepared for condom use, also in unanticipated situations. This extension is important, because: 1. current programs typically fail to address the needs of young people who are (becoming) sexually active and the age at which young people first become sexually active is decreasing; 2. There is no program designed for older adolescents, 3. Young people - even when skilled and motivated to use condoms - do not anticipate possible sexual encounters and, consequently, are rarely prepared for safe sex and more willing to have unprotected sex (e.g., being motivated to use condoms, being able to buy condoms, and knowing how to use them will not help when being in a sudden and desired opportunity to have sex, but not having condoms available; in that case young people are likely to fail sticking to their plan). The extended LLL program is likely to fit with the needs of young people, who are (becoming) sexually active. The extended LLL-program should be more effective than the standard program in promoting condom use, by ensuring that young people are prepared for safe sexual encounters (e.g., having condoms available, plan how to bring up the subject of condom use, and plans to cope with barriers in order to sustain their safe sex efforts). The original LLL developers are fellow-applicants of this proposal and we will work with people who originally implemented the LLL program. As such, the extended LLL program is imbedded in existing structures.

Onderwerpen

Kenmerken

Projectnummer:
61300037
Looptijd: 100%
Looptijd: 100 %
2005
2010
Onderdeel van programma:
Projectleider en penvoerder:
Dr. P. Empelen