THE EFFECT OF SEX-EDUCATION ON ADOLESCENTS USE OF CONDOMS - APPLYING THE SOLOMON 4-GROUP DESIGN

A school-based sex education program was developed in order to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. A Solomon fou r-group design with random assignment to the different conditions, was used to evaluate an intervention based on cognitive social learning t heory and social influence theory The main goal of the intervention wa s to increase use of condoms. A stratified sample of 124 classes (2,41 1 students) was drawn at random from all the upper secondary schools ( high schools/colleges) in one county in Norway. The results indicate a consistent interaction between pretest and intervention, which seems to have an effect on condom use. Pretest or intervention alone did not contribute to this effect. The interaction effect appeared among the students with few sexual partners. Several possible explanations to th e observed interaction effect and the implication for future intervent ions are discussed.