Why Teach Healthy Relationship Skills Using Primary Prevention Strategies?

Everyone deserves to know evidence-based and research-driven information to make healthy choices that maximize life benefits. Everyone deserves the opportunity to choose options that best protect themselves and gain skills that will support them to stay away from risks that can hinder optimal health pathway in life. Risk avoidance and risk cessation skills are combined with positive youth development and life skills building strategies.

With the funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in working with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), CYP provides healthy relationship and life skills program to Shasta County. The evidence shows that the following strategies are more likely to result in better future outcomes for youth emotionally, economically, mentally, and physically:

  1. to teach youth holistic, individual, and societal benefits associated with personal responsibility, self-regulation, goal setting, healthy decision-making, and a focus on the future;

  2. to share the advantage of refraining from non-marital sexual activity to improve the future prospects, and physical and emotional health of youth;

  3. to train youth to attain self-sufficiency and emotional maturity before engaging in sexual activity;

  4. to build foundational components of healthy relationships and their impact on the formation of healthy marriages and safe and stable families;

  5. to support youth to understand risk behaviors, such as drug and alcohol usage, increase the risk for teen sex and how negatively they can impact their future outcome; and

  6. to empower youth to resist and avoid, and receive help regarding sexual coercion and dating violence, recognizing that, even with consent, teen sex remains a youth risk behavior.

1. According to Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report 2023 by the CDC, high school students in US are making great decisions. 70% of high school students nationwide have never had sex and 79% of them were not currently sexually active. This data validates a great need for continued effort to educate teens in primary prevention strategies. The majority of the high school students need all the support they can get so they can continue to stay on this healthy path. The 30% of those who are engaged in risks also need risk cessation skills so they can eliminate the risks and build protective factors for their bright future.

2. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in working with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), recognize the need for Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) programs and Sexual Risk Cessation Education (SRCE). They define SRAE as “an education that teaches participants how to voluntarily refrain from non-marital sexual activity. SRAE Programs also teach the benefits associated with: self-regulation, success sequencing for poverty prevention, healthy relationships, goal setting, resisting sexual coercion, avoiding dating violence, resisting youth risk behaviors such as: underage drinking and illicit drug use.”

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/fysb/programs/adolescent-pregnancy-prevention/sexual-risk-avoidance-education

3.  The California Healthy Youth Act of 2016 mandates that sexual health instruction occurs in public schools once in middle school and once in high school using Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) curricula, a sexual risk reduction approach. We bolster these prevention efforts by educating about risk avoidance and risk cessation skills with medically accurate; culturally, and linguistically appropriate; trauma informed; and inclusive education.

4.  Research indicates that today’s youth are vulnerable to the following risks and we can educate them to make choices that will ensure a healthier path. (See the source in the Problem, Needs, and Solutions website page)

  • CDC 2018 reports that half of newly diagnosed STI cases are in the 15-24 age group. One out of four sexually active teens contracts an STI.

  • Teen sex is connected to teen pregnancy, poverty, low school attainment, and low future economic success.

  • There is a strong correlation between Adverse Childhood Experiences, teen sexual behaviors, and adolescent pregnancy.

  • Early sexual behaviors set a pattern for later ones.

  • Teens engaged in sexual risks are more likely to engage in other risky behaviors such as drinking, smoking, and using drugs.

  • Teen sexual abuse and victimization is more likely to be experienced by youth engaged in teen sex.