Study
Allen and colleagues (1994) conducted an evaluation of Wyman’s Teen Outreach Program® (TOP®) using a pre–post design and a well-matched comparison group. Characteristics of TOP® were evaluated at 66 different sites nationwide from 1987 through 1992. Participants consisted of 1,020 students who participated in TOP® and 1,013 comparison students. Students ranged from 11 to 19 years old and from 7th to 12th grades. The majority of the TOP® group was female (71.2 percent). The race/ethnicity of students included Black (40.3 percent), white (40.6 percent), Hispanic (15.2 percent), and other (3.9 percent). The majority of the comparison group was also female (65.3 percent). The race/ethnicity of comparison students was Black (38.0 percent), white (43.3 percent), Hispanic (14.2 percent), and other (4.5 percent). There were no significant differences between the two groups on demographic characteristics.
Self-report questionnaires were used to assess students’ problem behaviors, containing items asking students a) whether they had ever been pregnant (females) or caused a pregnancy (males), b) whether they had failed any courses during the previous year at school, and, c) whether they had been suspended at any time during the previous year at school. The incidence of each of these three problem behaviors was summed to yield a problem behavior score for each student, and the scores were used to measure the program’s effectiveness in reducing problem behaviors. The authors also conducted subgroup analyses to examine the impact the program made on pregnancy outcomes for female participants.
Study
Allen and colleagues (1997) conducted a randomized controlled trial of TOP® across 25 sites nationwide from 1991 through 1995, concentrating on the program’s impact on teenage pregnancy, course failure, and school suspension. The sample consisted of 695 high school students, who were randomly assigned to either TOP® or to a control group. The majority of the TOP® group was female (86.0 percent). The race/ethnicity of students included Black (67.7 percent), white (17.0 percent), Hispanic (12.9 percent), and other (2.4 percent). The vast majority of the comparison group was also female (83.3 percent). The race/ethnicity of comparison students was Black (66.6 percent), white (20.4 percent), Hispanic (9.6 percent), and other (3.4 percent). There were no significant differences between the two groups on demographic characteristics.
Self-report questionnaires were used to assess students’ problem behaviors, containing items asking students a) whether they had ever been pregnant (females) or caused a pregnancy (males), b) whether they had failed any courses during the previous year at school, and c) whether they had been suspended at any time during the previous year at school. Students were told that the information they provided would be kept confidential, and they were specifically reassured that none of their answers would be available to school officials. Participants were assessed at program entry, to provide baseline data, and were then assessed at program exit 9 months later. Students’ scores in both the treatment and comparison groups were compared between the two time periods to provide indicators of the program’s effectiveness in reducing problem behaviors. The authors conducted subgroup analyses to examine the impact the program made on pregnancy outcomes for female participants.
Study
Allen and Philliber (2001) conducted a randomized controlled trial of TOP® with the intention of examining how well the program addresses the needs of those students within the program who are at the highest risk of problematic behavior. Data was collected over a 4-year period across more than 60 sites nationwide. For a subset of about 20 percent of students (n = 660), random assignment to treatment and control groups was used. Participants in this evaluation of TOP® consisted of 1,673 students who participated in TOP® and 1,604 comparison students; all students were in the 9th through 12th grades. The majority of the TOP® group was male (75.4 percent). The race/ethnicity of students included Black (44.3 percent), white (38.1 percent), Hispanic (12.6 percent), and other (5.0 percent). The majority of the comparison group was also male (70.9 percent). The race/ethnicity of comparison students was Black (46.1 percent), white (35.4 percent), Hispanic (12.9 percent), and other (5.6 percent). There were significantly more female students and Black students in the comparison group. This difference was controlled for in the analysis.
The same self-report questionnaires used in the Allen and colleagues (1997) study were used to assess students’ problem behaviors. At entry, students were asked a) whether they had ever been pregnant (females) or caused a pregnancy (males), b) whether they had failed any courses during the previous year at school, and, c) whether they had been suspended at any time during the previous year at school. At exit, the same questions were asked of students (except that the pregnancy question was modified to refer only to the academic year of the program). Final analyses concentrated on whether this broad-based competence-enhancing intervention was most efficacious when serving higher-risk adolescents, and was assessed in terms of both familial risk factors and behavioral risk factors. The authors conducted subgroup analyses to examine the impact the program made on pregnancy outcomes for female participants.
