Sex Education (Sex Ed) is crucial in the United States due to its impact on health, finance, politics, and education. Despite existing programs, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies worldwide according to the 2021 dataset collected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The Department of Health and Services advocates for increased education to reduce these rates. This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of Sex Ed by examining the role of identity, priming, Self-Determination Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. It focused on information retention, attitude change, and intentions to practice safe sex in LGBTQ inclusive, autonomy primed, or abstinence inclusive programs. Three experimental studies were conducted: the first on the impact of inclusionary priming on LGBTQ individuals, the second on the impact of autonomy and competency priming, and the third on the acceptance of abstinence as a valid option. While the priming effects were non-significant, significant main effects linked with identity (both LGBTQ and abstinent only) were found across all the studies. The research aimed to explore how these approaches can reduce unplanned pregnancies and slow the spread of STIs.
","abstract_html":"<p>Sex Education (Sex Ed) is crucial in the United States due to its impact on health, finance, politics, and education. Despite existing programs, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies worldwide according to the 2021 dataset collected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The Department of Health and Services advocates for increased education to reduce these rates. This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of Sex Ed by examining the role of identity, priming, Self-Determination Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. It focused on information retention, attitude change, and intentions to practice safe sex in LGBTQ inclusive, autonomy primed, or abstinence inclusive programs. Three experimental studies were conducted: the first on the impact of inclusionary priming on LGBTQ individuals, the second on the impact of autonomy and competency priming, and the third on the acceptance of abstinence as a valid option. While the priming effects were non-significant, significant main effects linked with identity (both LGBTQ and abstinent only) were found across all the studies. The research aimed to explore how these approaches can reduce unplanned pregnancies and slow the spread of STIs.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McGinley, Kathleen"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psychology, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jason Siegel","Wesley Schultz","Penny Harvey"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z","subjects":["LGBTQ","SDT","Sex Ed","Sexuality","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/916","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jason Siegel","Wesley Schultz","Penny Harvey"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McGinley, Kathleen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-02-18T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psychology, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["LGBTQ","SDT","Sex Ed","Sexuality","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/916"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Sex Education (Sex Ed) is crucial in the United States due to its impact on health, finance, politics, and education. Despite existing programs, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies worldwide according to the 2021 dataset collected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The Department of Health and Services advocates for increased education to reduce these rates. This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of Sex Ed by examining the role of identity, priming, Self-Determination Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. It focused on information retention, attitude change, and intentions to practice safe sex in LGBTQ inclusive, autonomy primed, or abstinence inclusive programs. Three experimental studies were conducted: the first on the impact of inclusionary priming on LGBTQ individuals, the second on the impact of autonomy and competency priming, and the third on the acceptance of abstinence as a valid option. While the priming effects were non-significant, significant main effects linked with identity (both LGBTQ and abstinent only) were found across all the studies. The research aimed to explore how these approaches can reduce unplanned pregnancies and slow the spread of STIs.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“It’s All About Sex [Education] Baby, Let’s Talk About SDT!” :The Impact of Identity and Priming on Retention of Sex Ed Information"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jason Siegel","Wesley Schultz","Penny Harvey"],"dc:creator":["McGinley, Kathleen"],"dc:date.available":["2025-02-18T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Sex Education (Sex Ed) is crucial in the United States due to its impact on health, finance, politics, and education. Despite existing programs, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies worldwide according to the 2021 dataset collected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The Department of Health and Services advocates for increased education to reduce these rates. This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of Sex Ed by examining the role of identity, priming, Self-Determination Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. It focused on information retention, attitude change, and intentions to practice safe sex in LGBTQ inclusive, autonomy primed, or abstinence inclusive programs. Three experimental studies were conducted: the first on the impact of inclusionary priming on LGBTQ individuals, the second on the impact of autonomy and competency priming, and the third on the acceptance of abstinence as a valid option. While the priming effects were non-significant, significant main effects linked with identity (both LGBTQ and abstinent only) were found across all the studies. The research aimed to explore how these approaches can reduce unplanned pregnancies and slow the spread of STIs.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/916"],"dc:subject":["LGBTQ","SDT","Sex Ed","Sexuality","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Psychology"],"dc:title":["“It’s All About Sex [Education] Baby, Let’s Talk About SDT!” :The Impact of Identity and Priming on Retention of Sex Ed Information"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psychology, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z"}