Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Sexuality education : a descriptive study of adolescent interests and perceived needs as reported by middle school students

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/ww72bf96x

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • The purpose of this study was to collect information on relevant sexuality education content for adolescents by assessing students' interests and perceived needs. Subjects in this study were middle school students. Two methods of data collection were employed, therefore, this study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, questionnaires were completed by 224 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students of the Greater Albany School District. Responses from the Student Sexuality Education Questionnaire (SSEQ) revealed sexuality topics of importance based on interest and perceived need. Subsequent to identifying sexuality topics of importance, statistical analyses were performed on each sexuality topic. Kruskal-Wallis analyses determined that five sexuality topics (of 23 listed in the SSEQ) were significant between sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. Seventeen topics tested statistically significant when female and male responses were submitted to Mann-Whitney analyses. Differences between grade levels and sexes were identified for three topics in both tests of significance. These topics were female reproductive system, male reproductive system, and dating. In the second phase of this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 students who completed the SSEQ. Student consent, grade level, and sex were criteria used in selecting the Phase II sample. Students' responses to Interview Guide questions were tape-recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed. An analysis of the transcripts revealed similarities and differences between Phase I and II data. In both phases, students reported that AIDS, STD's, preventing STD's, preventing pregnancy, and sexual abuse were most important to learn about in school. Additional data that emerged during the interview process related to preferred sources and grade levels for sexuality education. Students generated a list of suggestions for relevant sexuality education. Their suggestions were summarized. A synthesis of Phase I and II results led to recommendations for school administrators and educators. Recommendations were also provided for future research.
Resource Type
Date Available
Date Issued
Degree Level
Degree Name
Degree Field
Degree Grantor
Commencement Year
Advisor
Committee Member
Academic Affiliation
Non-Academic Affiliation
Subject
Rights Statement
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Digitization Specifications
  • File scanned at 300 ppi (Monochrome, 8-bit Grayscale) using ScandAll PRO 1.8.1 on a Fi-6770A in PDF format. CVista PdfCompressor 5.0 was used for pdf compression and textual OCR.
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

In Collection:

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details SimsGigi-Terese1992.pdf 2017-08-20 Public Download