About Focus on Kids
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Focus on Youth Key Characteristics
- The original research took place in the early 1990s.
- The curriculum is grounded in social cognitive theory.
- Ethnographic and survey research and community input drove the process to ensure developmental and cultural relevance.
- 383 African American youth ages 9-15 participated in the study.
- All of the youth were from low-income communities in Baltimore, Md.
- 9 recreation centers participated in the study.
- A parent involvement segment was added.
- At six-month follow-up, participants in the original program were more likely than youth in the control group to use condoms if they were sexually active (85% vs. 61%)
- At six months and 12 months, youth in the randomized parent study reported significantly lower rates of sex, sex without a condom, alcohol and cigarette use.
- It has been adapted and implemented in Baltimore, Washington D.C., Washington State, rural West Virginia, the Bahamas, Namibia, China and Vietnam.