Abstract
The reduction of risk behaviors in secondary schools is a key concern for parents, teachers, and school administrators. School is one of the primary contexts of socialization for young people; thus, the investment in school-based programs to reduce risk behaviors is essential. In this study, we report on youth who participated in an intervention designed to improve decision-making skills based on positive youth development approaches. We examine changes in decision-making skills before and after involvement in the Teen Interactive Theater Education (TITE) program and retrospective self-assessment of change in knowledge, abilities, and beliefs as a result of participating in TITE (n = 127). Youth that reported increases in knowledge, abilities, and beliefs due to the intervention (n = 89) were more likely to think about the consequences of their decisions and list options before making a decision compared to their counterparts that reported less overall learning (n = 38). Implications for intervention research and stakeholders are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Watson, R. J., McDonald, D. A., Carter, R., & Russo, J. M. (2016). Reducing Youth Risk Behaviors Through Interactive Theater Intervention. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 4(1), 5. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/jhse/vol4/iss1/5
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
