TPC-Journal-V1-Issue1

32 The Professional Counselor \ Volume 1, Issue 1 and contraceptive decision making. Program participants exhibited “(a) improved knowledge about contraception, reproductive physiology, and adolescent pregnancy outcomes; (b) increased awareness of the existence of specific birth control methods; (c) among seventh graders, more conservative attitudes toward circumstances under which sexual intercourse was viewed as personally acceptable, and among eighth graders, a shift toward more liberal attitudes; and (d) a greater tendency to acknowledge mutual responsibility for contraception” (Herz, Goldberg, & Reis, 1984, p. 309). A second parenthood education program was developed as part of Save the Children , Scotland’s 3-year Positive Parenting Project in Angus, a rural school in North East Scotland. The participants were ages 13–14, labeled Year 2 level in Scotland. Goals were: increase the quality of life for the next generation of families; improve the way young people handle life within their own families; help develop young people’s communication skills in all their relationships; and establish good parenting as the foundation for other aspects of personal and social education (i.e., drug awareness, environmental education, and community involvement). Although not an experimental study, the conclusion was that the program had a positive impact on students by helping them think more objectively about the parenting role and concurrent responsibilities of parenthood (Cutting & Tammi, 1999). A third study examined the longitudinal effects of an Adolescent Development Program on participants in Trinidad, Spain, 10 years after participation. The 3-month program was designed to develop the social and academic skills of adolescents ages 16 to 19, and focused on self-understanding, parenting skills, overcoming everyday problems, and increasing motivation to better equip themselves with marketable skills. Qualitative findings, gathered through follow- up surveys, indicated participants benefited from the program in several ways: they became better parents, improved communication with their own parents, developed higher levels of self-esteem, and female participants postponed childbearing (Griffith, 2002). While these studies have been important in showing that parenthood education programs can be influential with adolescents, there is a gap in experimental research with the at-risk high school population in the U.S. An alternative school population . This study was designed to expand the body of knowledge and address the identified gap in current literature by quantifying the results of a parenthood education program with one of the more needy populations—pre-pregnancy, pre-parenting alternative school students. Research is plentiful on parenting education programs geared toward teen parents, a necessary, albeit reactionary course of action. Alternately, this study implemented a parenthood education program with alternative school students prior to parenthood. Alternative school adolescents are plagued with countless obstacles—low self-efficacy, substance abuse, poverty, child abuse, school failure, employment barriers, teen pregnancy—as a result of recurring intergenerational cycles (Barr & Parrett, 2003; Payne, 2003). Without proactive intervention, the cycle is bound to continue indefinitely and outlook for improvement is dim. These challenges were addressed in this study by exploring the following research questions: Would a parenthood education program integrated into an alternative school curriculum produce student participants who (a) demonstrate higher self-efficacy, (b) believe they are more prepared to be effective parents, and (c) evidence increased empathy for their current parent/ caregiver, thereby improving the student’s appreciation for the parent-child relationship? Methodology Participants The participants for this study were 82 students, grades 7th through 12th ( M = 9.93, SD = 1.44), from an alternative school located in a rural community of a northwest state. Participants included 37 females and 45 males ranging from 13 to 20 years of age ( M = 15.73, SD = 1.66). Sixty-five of the participants (79%) came from a home with a female primary caregiver, while 17 (21%) were from a family with a male primary caregiver. Additionally, 50 (61%) had a one-parent family, 27 (33%) had a two-parent family, and five (6%) were not living with a parent. The breakdown of the demographic characteristics by experimental and control group are displayed below.