Youth Development Behavioral Interventions Coordinated with Work or Vocational Training to Reduce Sexual Risk Behaviors in Adolescents

Youth development behavioral interventions employ a holistic approach to adolescent health and wellness, and may or may not include components that are focused directly on pregnancy and STI prevention. These interventions emphasize:

• Social, emotional, or cognitive competence training that promotes pro-social norms
• Improved decision making
• Self-determination
• Improved communication skills
• Positive bonding experiences between youth and their peers or non-parental role models

Work or vocational training experience includes opportunities in business; health; auto mechanics and repair; heavy equipment operation; or paid work at day camps, child care centers, and parks and recreation programs. This experience provides opportunities for adolescents to interact with adults in the work place and aims to assist them in forming a positive adult identity, as well as a sense of responsibility, dependability, and punctuality.

Summary of Task Force Recommendations & Findings

The Community Preventive Services Task Force finds insufficient evidence to support youth development behavioral interventions coordinated with employment or vocational training to reduce sexual risk behaviors among adolescents. Evidence is considered insufficient because effect estimates were small and inconsistent across the body of evidence.

All of the interventions evaluated in this review included sexual behavior or risk reduction content as part of the behavioral intervention, although the emphasis on this component varied. The Task Force acknowledges that this review, focused on the subset of intervention studies that evaluated change in sexual risk behavior outcomes, does not provide a complete, systematic assessment of all of the evidence regarding overall effectiveness of these combined approaches.

Results of the Systematic Reviews

Five studies qualified for the review.

• The included studies targeted recruited adolescents (ages 10–19 years), had some sexual risk reduction content, and had to include sexual risk behavior outcomes.
• Self-reported pregnancy: median decrease of 0.8% (interquartile interval:-42% to 4%) among program participants (5 studies)
• Self-reported sexual risk behaviors: mixed results (4 studies)
• Five additional studies examined the relationship between work intensity and problem behaviors. In general, problem behaviors were associated with working more than 20 hours per week, which suggests that students who maintain higher intensity work schedules (i.e. more than half-time) during school are more likely to experience problems with emotional distress, substance abuse, and sexual risk behaviors.

These results were based on a systematic review of all available studies, conducted on behalf of the Task Force by a team of specialists in systematic review methods, and in research, practice and policy related to adolescent sexual behavior and youth development.

Economic Review

An economic review of this intervention was not conducted because the Task Force found insufficient evidence to determine its effectiveness.

Supporting Materials

• Summary evidence tables [PDF - 107KB]
• Included studies
• Search strategy

Publications

The findings and results of this systematic review have not been published. Read other Community Guide publications about the Prevention of HIV/AIDS, other STIs and Pregnancy in our library. You may also subscribe to be notified as new materials on this topic become available.

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Sample Citation

The content of publications of the Guide to Community Preventive Services is in the public domain. Guide to Community Preventive Services. Youth development behavioral interventions coordinated with work or vocational training to reduce sexual risk behaviors in adolescents. www.thecommunityguide.org/hiv/youthdev-work.html. Last updated: MM/DD/YYYY.

Review completed: April 2008