Assessment of a Culturally-Tailored Sexual Health Education Program for African American Youth

African American youth are affected disproportionately by sexually transmitted infections (STIs), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and teenage pregnancy when compared to other racial groups. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the To Help Young People Establish (2 HYPE) Abstinence Club, a behavioral intervention designed to promote delayed sexual activity among African American youth ages 12–18 in Atlanta, Georgia. The intervention included 20 h of curriculum and creative arts instruction. Pre- and post-intervention survey data collected from 2008–2010 were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Intervention (n = 651) and comparison (n = 112) groups were compared through analysis of variance and multivariate logistic regression models. There was a statistically significant increase in intervention youth who were thinking about being abstinent (p = 0.0005). Those who had not been engaged in sexual activity were two times more likely to plan abstinence compared to participants that had been previously sexually active previously (odds ratio 2.41; 95% confidence interval 1.62, 3.60). Significant results hold implications for subsequent community-based participatory research and practice that broadens the understanding of the relevance of marriage, as just one among other life success milestones that may hold more importance to African American youth in positioning the value of delayed and responsible sexual activity towards effective STIs, HIV/AIDS, and teen pregnancy risk reduction interventions.