Reducing the Risk - For Middle School Only

This program was implemented in rural settings and has received positive evaluation results from those implementations.

Reducing the Risk goes beyond the facts about abstinence and protection.
Reducing the Risk presents a powerful, active approach to prevention of teenage pregnancy and protection against HIV and other STD that motivates students to change their high-risk behaviors. RTR clearly emphasizes teaching refusal skills, delaying tactics and alternative actions students can use to abstain or use protection. Specific guidelines for class activities, background information for teachers, and complete lecture notes are included.

Reducing the Risk is based on three health behavior theories: Social Learning Theory, Social Influence Theory and Cognitive-Behavioral Theory. These three theories hypothesize that in order to reduce risk-taking behavior, people need to:

1. learn and personalize relevant information,
2. recognize social pressures and anticipate risky situations,
3. establish norms for positive behaviors,
4. learn and practice skills to act on the information and cope with social pressures.

In order to address each of these critical components of the health behavior theories RTR provides the youth with the following:

• Information about teen pregnancy, abstinence, birth control and the risks and consequences of teen pregnancy and HIV/STD.

• Opportunities to personalize information by having youth identify their own vulnerability to pregnancy and HIV, examining the impact of pregnancy and HIV on their own lives and identifying their personal values regarding abstaining or using birth control.

• Opportunities to recognize social pressures and anticipate risky situations by having youth examine common lines used to pressure for sex and teaching youth how to anticipate and prepare for situations in which unwanted or unprotected sex may occur.

• Norms for abstinence or protected sex are reinforced through the information presented and through all the skill instruction and practice.

• Opportunities to learn and practice skills including refusal skills, delaying skills and protection skills are learned and practiced.

• Evaluate the risks and consequences of becoming an adolescent parent or becoming infected with HIV or another STD.

• Recognize that abstaining from sexual activity or using contraception are the only ways to avoid pregnancy, HIV infection and other STD.

• Conclude that factual information about conception and protection is essential for avoiding teenage pregnancy, HIV infection and other STD.

• Demonstrate effective communication skills for remaining abstinent and for avoiding unprotected sexual intercourse.

Implementation
The lessons are designed for 45-minute periods; however, most can be expanded to fill two periods by increasing practice time and providing more time for discussion. For greatest impact, students need encouragement to practice their interpersonal skills in role plays. The more students effectively say no to sex or to plan to use protection, the more likely it is that they will act that way outside the classroom.

Materials
The 4th Edition of Reducing the Risk: Building Skills to Prevent Pregnancy, HIV and STD (RTR) includes 16 well-defined lessons which clearly emphasize teaching refusal statements, delay statements and alternative actions students can use to avoid unprotected sex. Directions for pre-course preparation — obtaining parent permission, establishing ground rules, etc. — are included in the manual. Specific guidelines for class activities, background information for teachers, and complete lecture notes are also included.