Master of Science in Nursing Theses
Date Degree Awarded
8-2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.)
School
Nursing
Committee Chair
Sharon Christman, Ph.D., RN, FAHA
Second Committee Member
Randall Johnson, Ph.D., RN
Keywords
Abstinence-plus, curriculum, validity, reliability, Against the Tide
Abstract
Problem and Significance: Adolescents in the U.S. are subjected to multiple media messages, peer influence, and cultural acceptance of sexual activity that result in one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy, teen abortion, and sexually transmitted disease among all developed nations. Varying educational curriculums have been studied regarding their effectiveness in decreasing these negative societal issues with our youth. The Women’s Pregnancy Center within Peoria Rescue Ministries has been administering abstinence-plus sex education curriculum, Against the Tide (ATT), to various school systems for the past 15 years. However, the effectiveness of the ATT curriculum had not been measured.
Purpose: To develop a reliable and valid pre- and post-test assessment tool to be used with the ATT program.
Theoretical Model: This 11-item instrument was initially development by the nurses who teach the ATT curriculum as guided by concepts found in the Transtheoretical Model.
Methods: The 11-item instrument was administered to all students who participated in the ATT program in Fall 2014. The ATT staff randomly selected the surveys from 300 of the participants for analysis. Out of these 300 surveyed, only 286 participants had complete pre- and post-test surveys, resulting in a final N=286.
Results: Principle components analysis revealed two factors in the survey. Based on the analysis, only seven of the 11 items were recommended to be retained in the survey. Cronbach’s alpha for the 7-item instrument was .58, and the readability was found to be grade-level appropriate for 5 out of final seven questions. While determining pre- and post-test differences was not the primary purpose of this study, a t-test was used to determine differences between the pre- and post-test scores, and was found to be significant.
Conclusions: Once outcomes of reliability and validity are supported, this 7-item likert scale could be considered reliable for future study when applied to measure the efficacy of the ATT curriculum.
DOI
10.15385/tmsn.2015.8
Recommended Citation
Boucuvalas, Nicole C., "A Pre-Test Post-Test Tool Development and Evaluation for the Abstinence-Plus Curriculum “Against The Tide”" (2015). Master of Science in Nursing Theses. 21.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/nursing_theses/21
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