A good thing to be trending downwards

There's some new research from the Guttmacher Institute out on non-permanent contraceptive failure rates that I wanted to share.  When someone decides what method of contraception is best for them, an important factor for a lot of people is likelihood of failure. Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, the researchers found that while there are some things that haven't changed (like LARCS still have lower failure rates than condoms), the rate of failure for all methods has decreased. That includes condom use, which is particularly interesting given that condoms also protect against sexually transmitted infections, over the counter, and accessible to male-bodied people. Reduced rates of contraceptive failures means increased numbers of people who have better control over their sexual health and lives.

There are a couple possible explanations. One could be that more people are using LARCs, which are more effective. Another is increased knowledge about contraception and improved, consistent usage. The researchers suggest some interesting avenues for future research and public health efforts. The researchers noted some disparities based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. As with many things, while this research is very encouraging and yet, there is still a lot of work to do.

Moment of reflection for you...

Research by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy shows that teens identify parents as the biggest influence on their sexual health. At work, we do great workshops with parents and caregivers of teens using a wonderful approach developed in Minnesota by some smart, talented people called It's That Easy. The workshops provide support to and empower parents, caregivers, and families to have conversations with the young people in their lives about sexuality topics. One of the activities at the start of the workshops has participants reflect on their experiences with sexuality education. We have them line up along a spectrum, like in the picture below.  It's really interesting, the range of experiences and feelings people have about how they learned about sexuality.

So, today, take some time and think about where you'd be. What was your sexuality education like? Who told you about it? Do you feel like you got everything you needed? What was missing?

And, what would you want the young people in your life to say? How do we get there?

Talking about love on Valentine's Day

I'm not one to super celebrate Valentine's Day, but there was a story on NPR today that I wanted to celebrate. It's a great interview with a school counselor, Phyllis Fagell, about why and how we talk with young people about love and relationships that hit on so many of the points I want people to understand about teens and the scope of sexuality education. Love and navigating relationships are super important to teens (which shouldn't seem surprising if you were a teen once) and something that should be part of how we talk with them about sexuality. Young people learn about relationships from a variety of places ranging from their families to the media. And the messages they receive also range, from healthy to unhealthy.

The majority of sexuality education focuses on prevention. Prevention of pregnancy and sexuality transmitted infections, not the prevention of broken hearts. I think part of that is the limitations of how people conceptualize healthy sexuality, and part of it is how adults think about teen relationships. Based on conversations with adults and teens, it seems like adults often think teen relationships are temporary or not serious. A dangerous thing about thinking that way is that it ignores how sexual decision-making is influenced by relationships, and it can lead to dismissal of concerns young people have about unhealthy or abusive relationships. Talking about relationships and love also just plain honors the intelligence and independence of young people, as Fagell points out. Fagell also has some wonderful advice about how to talk about the topic without infringing on family values, talking with younger teens, and for parents on how to broach the topic of relationships. Check it out!

positive youth development

In the past few weeks, I've facilitated training and discussion about positive youth development, and I've been thinking a lot about it.  There are many similarities between the goals of positive youth development and those of high quality, fact-based sexuality education. I am a big fan of the keys to healthy youth development identified by Gisela Konopka , the "mother of social work," who provided leadership in and made huge contributions to the field of youth development. I'd recommend looking into Konopka's life and work, it is really extraordinary. (I will give you a fun fact to get you interested: May 24th is Gisela Konopka Day in Minnesota.) Konopka's (1973) requirements for healthy youth development include:

• Participate as citizens, as members of a household, as workers, as responsible members of society
• Gain experience in decision-making
• Interact with peers, and acquire a sense of belonging
• Reflect on self, in relation to others and discover self by looking outward as well as inward
• Discuss conflicting values and formulate one's own value system
• Experiment with one's own identity, with relationships to other people, with ideas; try out various roles without having to commit oneself irrevocably
• Develop a feeling of accountability in the context of a relationship among equals
• Cultivate a capacity to enjoy life

Sexuality education should provide opportunities for all of these things. We always try to provide opportunities for skills practice around communication skills, decision-making, and values clarification. It's also about young people interacting with their peers, reflecting on their self, developing empathy for others, and reflecting on norms. I think one of the most important things we can do as sexuality educators is to show that there are nonjudgmental, open people out there who are willing to talk about what is often deeply personal and unfortunately uncomfortable. That is a key way to get at the last thing on the list, cultivating a capacity to enjoy life. For so many people, especially young people, sexuality is only framed as negative and risky. Obviously, it is important to understand safer sex practices, but it is also important to develop a healthy understanding of one's self and body especially in the context of culture and relationships. And, it's important for us, as educators, to remember that sexuality is about so much more than prevention. More on this in the future!

Konopka, G. Requirements for the Healthy Development of Adolescent Youth in Adolescence, VIII, 31, Fall, 1973.

It's about motivation

Because I <3 motivational interviewing.

Heading to SXSWEdu

Exciting stuff! My talented colleague and I will be at SXSWEdu in March to talk about the importance of positive youth development in the implementation and facilitation of sexuality education. Our presentation is Wednesday, March 8. If you're looking for more information, check out the SXSWEdu website. We're looking forward to talking about our work and connecting with others about what they're doing. There are a lot of challenges in education today, but there are also a lot of great people doing innovative work!

Why sex ed?

Why sex ed? you might be wondering. Sex ed can often seem like a sensitive, awkward topic. Well, I'll just say that that sentiment is often so culturally rooted. I am working in sexuality education, or sex ed, because while we all have familial or cultural values that are important, there is some basic information that all of us deserve to know. I'm a public health professional, and someone who cares about the social emotional development and positive development of young people. A lot of people think sex ed is purely about pregnancy prevention or the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Of course those are important topics to cover,  but high quality fact-based sexuality education is also about sexuality as a much broader topic that encompasses social emotional learning, media literacy, communication skills, and many other topics. This is because we are all sexual beings from birth to death, and being a sexual being is about more than simply the prevention of negative or undesired health outcomes. It's about who we are! It's about feeling good about our bodies, being in healthy relationships, recognizing when something is wrong, among other things.

I am passionate about sexuality education because I think, when done right by great professionals, it can have a hugely important impact on the overall wellbeing and development of young people. Why and how to do this is what I'll be writing about in upcoming posts!