Application Activity: Evaluating Claims About Sex-Ed Programs

One of the course objectives is being able to evaluate whether a program works or not. For example, we've discussed different levels of evidence (e.g., anecdotal vs. randomized control trials) that may exist for a program. One important issue that we have not discussed much is how research results are then presented to the public. This is a particularly relevant issue for interventions that may be controversial, such as sexual education programs.

For this Application Activity, you and your classmates will examine claims made about abstinence-only or abstinence-plus interventions. You will also examine whether or not the claims are supported by any evidence. You will need to thoughtfully complete three steps in order to finish this activity - locate a source, make a discussion post about your source, and react to a classmate''s post.

Locate a Source
To begin, locate a brief video clip, news article, or website that promotes either comprehensive sex education ("abstinence-plus" education) or abstinence-only education. Please identify a source that is from a news organization, a promotional ad, or organization, rather than just an individual providing his or her own views. For example, a Youtube video with someone ranting in front of their camera about the "evils of abstinence-only programs" (or abstinence-plus programs) cannot be used for this activity. However, a Youtube video with a promotional ad or a clip from a TV news program would be okay.

Make a Discussion Post

Once you have located a video clip, news article, or website post the following into the Group Discussion:

The name and direct link to the website that you found

Generate a list of 3 claims made by the video, article, or website. "Claims" are statements that support a specific view. For example, a website that supports abstinence-only education might claim things such as "Abstinence-only interventions have been proven to work!" and "Comprehensive sex education programs send the message that it's okay to for teens to have sex."

Pick one of the claims to focus on. What evidence supports or refutes (i.e., goes against) the claim? You can consider information you learned about in the online lesson, in this week''s reading assignment, or from a research study. For example, if the claim cites a specific study, you can track down more information about the original study to see if it is consistent with the claim. Note: Rather than say whether or not you agree with the claim, focus on specific information that supports or doesn't support the claim. In most cases, you should be able to find information about at least one of the claims that you identified above. If you cannot find information about any of your claims, describe how you could test whether or not the information is accurate.

Explain whether you think that the video, article, or website accurately represented the research or evidence in their claims. Then explain whether there are any limitations to their claims. Some points to consider:
Was all of the information presented or was only part of the information presented?
Who paid for the research or who is making the claims?
Are there alternative explanations for the results?
If effects were reported, were participants followed long enough to detect effects?
If effects were reported, did they measure attitudes or actual behavior?

React to a Classmates Post
Read one of your classmates'' posts and visit the link that they provided. Write a brief reply to this person's post. In responding to your classmate's post, consider things such as:

Do you think that the information on your classmate's website (or article or video) is accurately represented? Why or why not?

Are there other limitations to any of the claims that were not yet mentioned? If so, what are they?

In what ways do the claims differ from the claims on the website that you found?

What additional evidence supports or refutes any of the claims on the website?

One of the objectives of this course is for you to demonstrate clear written communication skills when you discuss intervention science topics. Therefore, your posts should be written in complete sentences and grammatically correct. Please proofread and spell-check your responses before posting them. Clear written communication is worth 1 pt for this post.

Your reaction and your response to a classmate's post will be graded based on their thoughtfulness rather than any specific opinion(s) provided. Whether you agree or disagree, make sure to justify your response.

Claims:
"Parents Agree: Abstinence education is the best health message for teens."

"A nationwide Zogby poll conducted in 2007 showed that parents prefer abstinence education 2 to 1 over comprehensive sex education."
"9 out of 10 parents agree that being sexually abstinent is best for their child's health and future"

One of the claims is that parents prefer their teens to have abstinence-only education rather than comprehensive sex education. To check this claim, I accessed the actual results from the Zogby poll. This claim is only half true. At the beginning of the "poll", 50% of parents said that they wanted comprehensive sex education taught to their children whereas 40% of parents said they wanted abstinence-only programming. In other words, less than half of the parents preferred abstinence-only education. Only after the survey walked parents through a series of somewhat misleading questions and "facts" did the preference for abstinence-only education emerge. At the end of the survey 60% of parents said they would support abstinence only whereas only 30% said they wanted comprehensive sex education.

Although the claims were not false, this website (for the National Abstinence Education Association) does not describe the complete results from the study. They pick out the results that fit best with their mission - to promote abstinence-only education. In many cases, they leave out information from other parts of the survey that would demonstrate how complex parents' opinions are about sex education. For example, parents were asked: "Do you agree/disagree that learning to correctly use contraceptives, including condoms, is best for your child''s health and future?" About 80% of parents said that they either strongly agree (56.9%) or somewhat agree (21.4%) to this statement. However, the website does not present this information. In addition, when telling parents the "facts" about abstinence-only education programs, the poll does not tell parents that abstinence-only programs rarely show students how to use condoms. The claim that "9 out of 10 parents agree that being sexually abstinent is best for their child's health" is technically true, but it also doesn't tell the whole story. Many parents would like their teen to be abstinent, but they recognize that many teens choose to have sex, and therefore they want their teen to learn about condoms.

Attachment:- Sample Post.rar