"Let's Talk About Sex": pilot study of an interactive CD-ROM to prevent HIV/STIS in female adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot-test an interactive CD-ROM aimed at the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in female adolescents. The CD-ROM includes prevention information, models skills for negotiating abstinence and consistent condom use, teaches media literacy, and allows the user to choose a culturally appropriate host to guide them through the CD-ROM. Forty-seven female adolescents attending a health department clinic were randomized to receive the CD-ROM plus an educator-led didactic session versus the didactic session alone.

Parent opinion of sexuality education in a state with mandated abstinence education: does policy match parental preference?

Purpose: Despite public debate about the content of sexuality education in schools, state and federal policy has increasingly financed and legislated abstinence-only education over the past decade. Although public schools strive to meet the needs of parents who, as taxpayers, fund the educational system, little is known about parental desires regarding sexuality education in states with mandated abstinence education. The objective of this study was to assess parental opinion about sexuality education in public schools in North Carolina, a state with mandated abstinence education.