Review articleAdolescents’ perceptions of sexual health education programs: An integrative review
Section snippets
Methods
Three databases were used to search the literature: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Complete, PubMed, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). The literature search is detailed in the PRISMA diagram in Fig. 1. In each database, the truncated terms adolesc* teen* AND school sexual health education experiences OR school sexual health education perceptions were used to retrieve 215, 50, and 626 articles respectively. The search was further refined using
Results
Examining adolescents' perceptions of school-based sexual health education provides crucial insight into their experiences and can be used to improve sexual health education to benefit adolescents. Literature related to this topic is lacking, as only 16 articles emerged after a comprehensive search. Despite the low volume, the studies included in this integrative review provided valuable insight into adolescents’ perceptions of sexual health education. The main themes from this review included:
Discussion
This review provides foundational information regarding adolescents' perceptions of sexual health education. The results from this integrative review can be used to inform the redesign of sexual health programs to improve content relevance, timing, environment, and delivery. Despite the millions of dollars spent each year funding school-based sexual health education, adolescents continue to make more unsafe sexual health decisions than their adult counterparts (AtlasPlus, 2017; Youth Risk
Conclusion
This review elucidated the characteristics and areas of improvement for school-based sexual health education programs from the adolescent perspective. Adolescents judge the quality of sexual health education by the open-mindedness and knowledge of the educator, the relevance of the content, and their comfort with the educational environment. When content is delivered that is deemed irrelevant or the education is perceived as biased, adolescents seek outside education sources such as peers and
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Future of Nursing Scholars program [grant number 74338].
References (38)
- et al.
Changing patterns of contraceptive use and the decline in rates of pregnancy and birth among U.S. adolescents, 2007–2014
Journal of Adolescent Health
(2018) - et al.
Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage: An updated review of U.S. policies and programs and their impact
The Journal of Adolescent Health
(2017) - et al.
The teenage brain
Current Directions in Psychological Science
(2013) - et al.
Adolescent sexual health in Europe and the US-Why the difference?
(2009) They think you shouldn't be having sex anyway': Young people's suggestions for improving sexuality education content
Sexualities
(2008)- et al.
Listening for commissioning: A participatory study exploring young people's experiences, views and preferences of school-based sexual health and school nursing
Journal of Clinical Nursing
(2018) - et al.
Emerging genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying pubertal maturation in adolescence
Journal of Research on Adolescence
(2019) - et al.
Modified social ecological model: A tool to guide the assessment of the risks and risk contexts of HIV epidemics
BMC Public Health
(2013) - et al.
Young people's perceptions of sexuality and relationships education in Queensland schools
Australian and International Journal of Rural Education
(2012) - et al.
Satisfaction with sex education in New Mexico high schools: A survey of college students
The Journal of Reproductive Medicine
(2016)
How they got it and how they wanted it: Marginalised young people's perspective on their experiences of sexual health education
Sex Education
Emerging adults' experiences of middle and high school sexual health education in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario
The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality
Factors associated with middle school students' perceptions of the quality of school-based sexual health education
Sex Education
National center for HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention AtlasPlus
Youth risk behavior survey data: Data summary and trends report: 2007–2017
A positive approach to adolescent sexual health promotion: A qualitative evaluation of key stakeholder perceptions of the Australian positive adolescent sexual health (PASH) conference
BioMed Central Public Health
Understanding adolescence as a period of social–affective engagement and goal flexibility
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Chlamydia infection
Abstinence-only sex education: College students' evaluations and responses
Americaon Journal of Sexuality Education
Cited by (24)
Sexual debut and college entrance among South Korean adolescents
2020, Journal of AdolescenceCitation Excerpt :Further, educators should design substantive, adequate, and helpful curricula that emphasize the hormonal and physiological changes driving various sexual behaviors and the natural development of interest in sex. Such classes should include balanced information on the possible positive aspects and possible risks of sexual intercourse (Corcoran et al., 2020). The current finding of an asymmetric impact of sexual debut by gender highlights the need for sexuality and relationship education that features and cultivates gender-sensitive perspectives, the maintenance of sexual and romantic relationships, and sexual self-determination.
Implementation of a Booster Sexual Health Education Curriculum for Older Adolescents in Rural Communities
2024, Health Promotion Practice