Intervention Effects on Health-Risking Sexual Behavior Among Girls in Foster Care: The Role of Placement Disruption and Tobacco and Marijuana Use.

The present study examined the effects of the Middle School Success intervention (MSS), a program to promote healthy adjustment in foster girls, on their health-risking sexual behavior, using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. As hypothesized, girls in the intervention condition ( = 48) showed significantly lower levels of health-risking sexual behavior than did girls in the control condition ( = 52) at 36 months postbaseline. Further path analysis indicated that this intervention effect was fully mediated through its effects on girls' tobacco and marijuana use.