PASHA Program Archive ST20

DRAW THE LINE/RESPECT THE LINE: Middle School Intervention to Reduce Sexual Risk Behavior
University of California, San Francisco, The Center for AIDS Prevention Studies & ETR Associates

DRAW THE LINE/RESPECT THE LINE provides a three-year middle school-based STD/HIV and pregnancy prevention program. The program aims to reduce the number of students who initiate or have sexual intercourse, and to increase condom use among students who are sexually active. DTL helps students define their personal limits (drawing the line), think ahead and prepare for sticking to those limits, and to respect the limits of others (respecting the line).

While the intervention had no demonstrable effect on girls’ behavior, evaluation results indicated that the intervention delayed sexual initiation among boys (one year post intervention: 17.3 vs. 24.5, P = .03). In addition, boys exhibited greater knowledge, had more positive attitudes about not having sex, and were less likely to find themselves in situations that could lead to sexual behaviors (adjusted mean score, intervention vs. control: 1.88 vs. 2.06, P = .002).