Evidence-Based Programs
Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education
Overview of the Intervention
Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education is a classroom-based curriculum that teaches students the benefits of remaining abstinent until marriage and the risks associated with premarital sexual activity. It aims to teach middle school and high school students resistance skills and tactics to help them practice abstinence and build relationships without having sex. It also provides information about male and female reproductive systems as well as sexually transmitted diseases.
Intervention Components
Component 1: Curriculum
The classroom-based curriculum is 450 minutes, delivered in five 90-minute sessions or ten 45-minute sessions, depending on the school schedule. It is delivered during required health classes on consecutive days. The material is grouped into the following five sections, each of which contains writing exercises, discussion, and/or activities:
Theoretical Framework
Study Citation: Weed, S. E., Birch, P. J., Ericksen, I. H., & Olsen, J. A. (2011). Testing a predictive model of youth sexual intercourse initiation. Unpublished manuscript.
Study setting: 41 South Carolina schools
Study Sample: 2,215 7th- through 9th-grade students
Study Design: Quasi-experimental design. The study compared 1,828 students from 34 schools that implemented the Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education program with 387 students from 7 schools that did not have the program. Data were collected immediately before and after the program and again a year after the program had ended.
Study Rating: The study met the review criteria for a moderate study rating. It did not meet the review criteria for a high study rating because students were not assigned at random to the intervention and comparison groups.
Study Findings:
A year after the program ended:
Curriculum Materials
Information on curriculum materials is available through http://www.heritageservices.org/curriculum/heritage-keepers-abstinence-education-level-i/
Training and TA: Teachers are required to complete training sessions offered by Heritage Community Services.