Background. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the fastest spreading infectious diseases in the Caribbean, and is second only to Sub-Sahara Africa in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases. Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost twin island republic in the Caribbean. In 1999, the 5th leading cause of death among individuals ages 15-34 in Trinidad and Tobago was HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS (2006), the prevalence rate of HIV in Trinidad and Tobago is 2.6%.
Purpose. Currently, there is no standardized HIV/AIDS education program in secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Since HIV/AIDS is a health concern in Trinidad and Tobago and adolescents as young as 15 years of age have been infected the study was conducted to determine if providing adolescents with HIV/AIDS information will make them more aware of their susceptibility of becoming infected with HIV, and the severity of HIV. Additionally, I attempted to show that providing information about and demonstrating assertiveness skills regarding saying no to sexual advances will lead to an intention to delay sexual initiation.
Method. A quasi-experimental design was used with a treatment group (n=104) and a comparison group (n=92). The educational intervention was conducted once per week for the treatment and the comparison groups over 5 consecutive weeks, each session was 30-45 minutes in length. Participants completed a pre and post-test during the first and last sessions. Sessions 2-4 comprised the educational intervention. The health belief model (HBM) was used to develop the intervention and assess its impact among adolescents 11-18 years old in nine secondary schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Three of the five constructs of the HBM used to design the intervention were perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and self-efficacy. The treatment group received an interactive, instructor led intervention which included three areas of HIV education: (1) basic facts about HIV, (2) ways to decrease the spread of HIV, (3) and assertiveness skills. The comparison group watched 3 videos about HIV/AIDS.
Results.The participants in the treatment group were younger (13.4 years) than those in the comparison group (14.7 years) (p=<.001). At pre-test, the comparison groups had higher scores on the knowledge items than those in the comparison group (p=.009) and maintained higher scores at post-test controlling for age, gender, and pretest values (p=.001). At post-test controlling for age, gender, and pre-test values the treatment group were more likely to plan to delay sexual initiation (p=.006).
Conclusions.The students in the comparison group were on average older than the students in the comparison group. At post-test there was a decrease in the comparison group scores on the variables of attitudes toward abstinence and delaying sexual initiation. Overall, there was a positive direction of change for the treatment group on the variables that were measured including intention to delay initiation of sexual activity.
","abstract_html":"<p><strong>Background.</strong> Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the fastest spreading infectious diseases in the Caribbean, and is second only to Sub-Sahara Africa in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases. Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost twin island republic in the Caribbean. In 1999, the 5<sup>th</sup> leading cause of death among individuals ages 15-34 in Trinidad and Tobago was HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS (2006), the prevalence rate of HIV in Trinidad and Tobago is 2.6%.</p> <p><strong>Purpose. </strong>Currently, there is no standardized HIV/AIDS education program in secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Since HIV/AIDS is a health concern in Trinidad and Tobago and adolescents as young as 15 years of age have been infected the study was conducted to determine if providing adolescents with HIV/AIDS information will make them more aware of their susceptibility of becoming infected with HIV, and the severity of HIV. Additionally, I attempted to show that providing information about and demonstrating assertiveness skills regarding saying no to sexual advances will lead to an intention to delay sexual initiation.</p> <p><strong>Method.</strong> A quasi-experimental design was used with a treatment group (n=104) and a comparison group (n=92). The educational intervention was conducted once per week for the treatment and the comparison groups over 5 consecutive weeks, each session was 30-45 minutes in length. Participants completed a pre and post-test during the first and last sessions. Sessions 2-4 comprised the educational intervention. The health belief model (HBM) was used to develop the intervention and assess its impact among adolescents 11-18 years old in nine secondary schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Three of the five constructs of the HBM used to design the intervention were perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and self-efficacy. The treatment group received an interactive, instructor led intervention which included three areas of HIV education: (1) basic facts about HIV, (2) ways to decrease the spread of HIV, (3) and assertiveness skills. The comparison group watched 3 videos about HIV/AIDS.</p> <p><strong>Results.</strong>The participants in the treatment group were younger (13.4 years) than those in the comparison group (14.7 years) (p=<.001). At pre-test, the comparison groups had higher scores on the knowledge items than those in the comparison group (p=.009) and maintained higher scores at post-test controlling for age, gender, and pretest values (p=.001). At post-test controlling for age, gender, and pre-test values the treatment group were more likely to plan to delay sexual initiation (p=.006).</p> <p><strong>Conclusions.</strong>The students in the comparison group were on average older than the students in the comparison group. At post-test there was a decrease in the comparison group scores on the variables of attitudes toward abstinence and delaying sexual initiation. Overall, there was a positive direction of change for the treatment group on the variables that were measured including intention to delay initiation of sexual activity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jones, Vanessa"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Naomi Modeste","Helen Hopp Marshak","Curtis Fox"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:53:31Z","subjects":["Infectious Disease","Preventive Medicine","Public Health Education and Promotion","Sexually Transmitted Diseases -- prevention & control -- Trinidad and Tobago; HIV Infections -- prevention & control -- Trinidad and Tobago; Sexual Behavior -- in adolescence; Sex Education; Attitude to Health; Interpersonal Relations; Social Perception; Health Surveys."],"languages":["English"],"rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/895","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Naomi Modeste","Helen Hopp Marshak","Curtis Fox"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jones, Vanessa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Infectious Disease","Preventive Medicine","Public Health Education and Promotion","Sexually Transmitted Diseases -- prevention & control -- Trinidad and Tobago; HIV Infections -- prevention & control -- Trinidad and Tobago; Sexual Behavior -- in adolescence; Sex Education; Attitude to Health; Interpersonal Relations; Social Perception; Health Surveys."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/895"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Background. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the fastest spreading infectious diseases in the Caribbean, and is second only to Sub-Sahara Africa in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases. Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost twin island republic in the Caribbean. In 1999, the 5th leading cause of death among individuals ages 15-34 in Trinidad and Tobago was HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS (2006), the prevalence rate of HIV in Trinidad and Tobago is 2.6%.
Purpose. Currently, there is no standardized HIV/AIDS education program in secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Since HIV/AIDS is a health concern in Trinidad and Tobago and adolescents as young as 15 years of age have been infected the study was conducted to determine if providing adolescents with HIV/AIDS information will make them more aware of their susceptibility of becoming infected with HIV, and the severity of HIV. Additionally, I attempted to show that providing information about and demonstrating assertiveness skills regarding saying no to sexual advances will lead to an intention to delay sexual initiation.
Method. A quasi-experimental design was used with a treatment group (n=104) and a comparison group (n=92). The educational intervention was conducted once per week for the treatment and the comparison groups over 5 consecutive weeks, each session was 30-45 minutes in length. Participants completed a pre and post-test during the first and last sessions. Sessions 2-4 comprised the educational intervention. The health belief model (HBM) was used to develop the intervention and assess its impact among adolescents 11-18 years old in nine secondary schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Three of the five constructs of the HBM used to design the intervention were perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and self-efficacy. The treatment group received an interactive, instructor led intervention which included three areas of HIV education: (1) basic facts about HIV, (2) ways to decrease the spread of HIV, (3) and assertiveness skills. The comparison group watched 3 videos about HIV/AIDS.
Results.The participants in the treatment group were younger (13.4 years) than those in the comparison group (14.7 years) (p=<.001). At pre-test, the comparison groups had higher scores on the knowledge items than those in the comparison group (p=.009) and maintained higher scores at post-test controlling for age, gender, and pretest values (p=.001). At post-test controlling for age, gender, and pre-test values the treatment group were more likely to plan to delay sexual initiation (p=.006).
Conclusions.The students in the comparison group were on average older than the students in the comparison group. At post-test there was a decrease in the comparison group scores on the variables of attitudes toward abstinence and delaying sexual initiation. Overall, there was a positive direction of change for the treatment group on the variables that were measured including intention to delay initiation of sexual activity.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of an Educational Intervention on the Sexual Perceptions and Practices of Adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Naomi Modeste","Helen Hopp Marshak","Curtis Fox"],"dc:creator":["Jones, Vanessa"],"dc:description.abstract":["Background. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the fastest spreading infectious diseases in the Caribbean, and is second only to Sub-Sahara Africa in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases. Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost twin island republic in the Caribbean. In 1999, the 5th leading cause of death among individuals ages 15-34 in Trinidad and Tobago was HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS (2006), the prevalence rate of HIV in Trinidad and Tobago is 2.6%.
Purpose. Currently, there is no standardized HIV/AIDS education program in secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Since HIV/AIDS is a health concern in Trinidad and Tobago and adolescents as young as 15 years of age have been infected the study was conducted to determine if providing adolescents with HIV/AIDS information will make them more aware of their susceptibility of becoming infected with HIV, and the severity of HIV. Additionally, I attempted to show that providing information about and demonstrating assertiveness skills regarding saying no to sexual advances will lead to an intention to delay sexual initiation.
Method. A quasi-experimental design was used with a treatment group (n=104) and a comparison group (n=92). The educational intervention was conducted once per week for the treatment and the comparison groups over 5 consecutive weeks, each session was 30-45 minutes in length. Participants completed a pre and post-test during the first and last sessions. Sessions 2-4 comprised the educational intervention. The health belief model (HBM) was used to develop the intervention and assess its impact among adolescents 11-18 years old in nine secondary schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Three of the five constructs of the HBM used to design the intervention were perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and self-efficacy. The treatment group received an interactive, instructor led intervention which included three areas of HIV education: (1) basic facts about HIV, (2) ways to decrease the spread of HIV, (3) and assertiveness skills. The comparison group watched 3 videos about HIV/AIDS.
Results.The participants in the treatment group were younger (13.4 years) than those in the comparison group (14.7 years) (p=<.001). At pre-test, the comparison groups had higher scores on the knowledge items than those in the comparison group (p=.009) and maintained higher scores at post-test controlling for age, gender, and pretest values (p=.001). At post-test controlling for age, gender, and pre-test values the treatment group were more likely to plan to delay sexual initiation (p=.006).
Conclusions.The students in the comparison group were on average older than the students in the comparison group. At post-test there was a decrease in the comparison group scores on the variables of attitudes toward abstinence and delaying sexual initiation. Overall, there was a positive direction of change for the treatment group on the variables that were measured including intention to delay initiation of sexual activity.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/895"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"dc:subject":["Infectious Disease","Preventive Medicine","Public Health Education and Promotion","Sexually Transmitted Diseases -- prevention & control -- Trinidad and Tobago; HIV Infections -- prevention & control -- Trinidad and Tobago; Sexual Behavior -- in adolescence; Sex Education; Attitude to Health; Interpersonal Relations; Social Perception; Health Surveys."],"dc:title":["The Effect of an Educational Intervention on the Sexual Perceptions and Practices of Adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:53:31Z"}