THE BARN SYSTEM - USE AND IMPACT OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH PROMOTION VIA COMPUTER

This paper reports the results of a study of the acceptance and impact of BARN (Body Awareness Resource Network), a computer-based health pr omotion/behavior change system for use by adolescents. BARN provided s tudents, grades 6-12, with information and skill-building activities o n the following topics: AIDS, alcohol, and other drugs, body managemen t, human sexuality, smoking, and stress management. During the 2 years that BARN use was studied, it was used heavily by both middle school and high school students, and particularly attracted adolescents who h ad already experimented with risk-taking behaviors. Those teens at hig her risk for escalating problems selected the relevant BARN topics. Ov erall, users of BARN were more likely to remain free of risk-taking be haviors than nonusers of BARN. BARN use was also associated with impro vements in risk-relevant behaviors such as contraceptive use, stress r eduction, cessation of smoking by light smokers, reduction of alcohol use, and reduction of problems associated with alcohol use. No relatio nship was found between BARN use and initiation of sexual activity, st ress prevention, or onset of either alcohol use or smoking. Results su ggest that a computer-based system may be a powerful tool for the redu ction of risk-taking behavior in adolescents.