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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Vargo, Amy (MA). Sexual Risk-Taking and Premature Pregnancy in Hillsborough County, Florida: An Evaluation of Prevention Efforts. (Romero-Daza) 2001.
This thesis presents the results of a process evaluation of three teenage pregnancy prevention/intervention programs that were funded by the WAGES (Work and Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency) Coalition of Hills borough County, Florida: a junior high level "Postponing Sexual Involvement" program, a YMCA "Youth Asset Development" program, and a Health Department's "Intensive Teen Case Management" program. I conducted this research while working as a member of a multidisciplinary evaluation team during my four-month internship (April through July, 2000) in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. Quantitative data was collected via self-administered surveys. Qualitative data was collected through open-ended surveys, observations of program implementation, brief "windshield" ethnographies of the surrounding communities, document review, and in-depth interviews with program staff and participants. In this thesis I provide background information on various risk factors associated with teen pregnancy at the macro (socio-demographic), household (family), and micro (individual) level. I also present a review of literature on the consequences of teenage sexual risk-taking, on efforts to provide prevention services, and on evaluation approaches for such prevention programs. I offer several recommendations to improve each of the prevention/intervention programs. These suggestions include increased availability of psychological counseling, the development of a mentor program, increased parental involvement, and a focus within the prevention curriculum on the consequences of sexual risk-taking.
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