Illustrative Inclusion Criteria

Evidence-Based Programs: Sexuality, Health & Adolescence

1.   Scientific rigor of evaluation (appropriate design and methods, with comparison group).

2.   A follow-up assessment must have occurred at least six months beyond the end of the intervention period.

3.   For pregnancy prevention programs, the target population must have been young people 10-19 years of age. For STI/HIV/AIDS prevention programs, interventions targeting college students are also considered.

4.   Demonstrated positive impact on one or more of the following sexual or sexual risk behaviors or outcomes for one or more subgroups of young people:

• Postponing sexual intercourse
• Decreasing the frequency of sexual intercourse
• Decreasing the number of sexual partners
• Increasing contraceptive use at first intercourse
• Increasing contraceptive use at most recent intercourse
• Increasing consistent contraceptive use among the sexually active
• Preventing (first or subsequent) pregnancy
• Increasing use of effective STI/HIV/AIDS-prophylactic method at first intercourse
• Increasing use of effective STI/HIV/AIDS-prophylactic method at most recent intercourse
• Increasing consistent use of effective STI/HIV/AIDS-prophylactic method at every intercourse
• Substitution of lower risk sexual behaviors for high-risk behaviors
• Increasing other STI/HIV/AIDS prevention-related behaviors (i.e., increased condom purchasing, increased voluntary condom carrying)
• Preventing STIs/HIV/AIDS

Note: For programs aimed at young people 15 or younger, demonstrated positive impact on sexual behavior-related refusal/negotiation skills, intentions, values and attitudes is accepted as preliminary evidence of the program’s promise.

Datasets on Adolescent Pregnancy and Pregnancy Prevention

1.   Technical quality, or the scientific merit of the sampling, instrumentation, and data collection procedures used by the original investigators;

2.   Substantive utility, or the range of the variables covered by the dataset and the scope of the population to which findings can be generalized;

3.   Program or policy relevance, or the ability of the dataset to answer applied questions on how to improve public policy or shape intervention programs;

4.   Demand or marketability for secondary data analysis, or the extent to which answers to theoretical or applied questions relevant to the dataset have not yet been published by original investigators or replicated by colleagues; and

5.   Disciplinary balance, or the extent to which demographic, psychological, sociological, and economic perspectives are reflected in the collection as a whole.