Project SNAPP was two-week-long AIDS and pregnancy prevention program offered to students in six Los Angeles middle schools. Program components included interactive activities, role-playing, and social and communication skills training. Activities were led by peer educators, the majority of whom were teen mothers or HIV positive. Experimental evaluation shows that participation in Project SNAPP did not significantly impact teens’ sexual activity, contraceptive use, STD rates, or pregnancy rates, and appeared to negatively impact rates of birth control pill usage.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM
Target population: Middle school students
Project SNAPP (Skills and kNowledge for AIDS and Pregnancy Prevention) was an AIDS and pregnancy prevention program offered to middle school students in six Los Angeles schools (Kirby, Korpi, Adivi & Weissman, 1997). The program consisted of 8 SNAPP sessions administered over two weeks, and was designed to make teens aware of adolescent sexuality issues and help them gain better communication and resistance skills through interactive activities. Peer educators, 50% of whom were teen mothers and 20% who were HIV positive, received extensive training and led SNAPP sessions.
EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM
Evaluated population: 1,657 students in 102 seventh-grade classrooms in six Los Angeles middle schools. The participants were Hispanic (64%), Asian (13%), and white or black (<10% each).
Approach: Adolescents were either assigned to the experimental group-Project SNAPP, for which they received 8 sessions on adolescent sexual health delivered over the course of 2 weeks-or a control group that received the regular lecture-style sexuality education the school offered.
Results: There were no significant impacts on sexual initiation, frequency of sexual activity, number of sexual partners, contraceptive behavior, STD rates among sexually experienced teens, or pregnancy (among females) at either the 5-month or 17-month follow up. Indeed, a lower percentage of students in the experimental group reported using birth control pills at last sex (23.7%) than did the control group (35.1%).
SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
Kirby, D, Korpi, M, Adivi, C, & Weissman, J. (1997). An Impact Evaluation of Project SNAPP: An AIDS and pregnancy prevention middle school program. AIDS Education and Prevention, 9, Supplement A, 44-61.
Program also discussed in the following Child Trends publication(s):
Manlove, J., Terry-Humen,
E., Romano Papillo, A., Franzetta, K., Williams, S., & Ryan, S. (2002). Preventing
teenage pregnancy, childbearing, and sexually transmitted diseases: What the
research shows (Research brief). Washington , DC : Child Trends.
Terry-Humen, E., Romano Papillo, A., Franzetta, K., Williams, S., & Ryan, S.
(2001). Background for community-level work on positive reproductive health
in adolescence: Reviewing the literature on contributing factors.
Washington, DC: Child Trends.
KEYWORDS: Adolescents, Middle School, Hispanic/Latino, School-Based, Skills Training, Teen Pregnancy, STD/HIV/AIDS, Sexual Activity, Condom Use and Contraception
Program information last updated 12/31/01.