Testing the Effectiveness of the Full and Abridged Relationship Smarts Curriculum for 9th Grade Students
Condition: Attitudes; Knowledge
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This evaluation will test the program effectiveness of a relationship education program
      (Relationship Smarts PLUS)and an abridged version of the program to 9th Grade Students on
      outcomes of knowledge. It will test 1) whether the Relationship Smarts (RS) Curriculum is
      more effective than a control curriculum of job-readiness programming, and 2) whether an
      abridged 8-lesson version of the RS Curriculum can be as effective as the full 12-lesson
      version.
    

Detailed description: 
      MTCI plans to deliver the Relationship Smarts PLUS (RS+) education curriculum to youth in
      high schools during the regular school day. RS+ is a widely-implemented healthy relationship
      education curriculum that aligns with the Georgia Department of Education performance
      standards in health education. The curriculum features 12 lessons covering such topics as
      healthy relationships, dating violence prevention, communication skills, conflict management,
      and decision making. MORE THAN CONQUERORS, INC. (MTCI) plans to deliver the curriculum to 9th
      grade students as part of a required, semester-long health class. The program will be
      delivered by trained facilitators from MTCI in coordination with each participating school.

      To be eligible to participate, students must be enrolled in one of the targeted health
      classes and have permission from a parent or guardian to participate in both the MATURE Plus
      II program and the STREAMS evaluation.The study plans to enroll 1,840 students over the
      entire two-year evaluation period.

      At the start of each semester, the targeted sections of 9th grade health class will be
      randomly assigned into one of three research groups: (1) a group that receives the full,
      12-lesson RS+ curriculum, (2) a group that receives a "summary" 8-lesson version of the RS+
      curriculum and four lessons on career planning and job readiness, or (3) a control group that
      receives lessons on career planning and job readiness without any lessons from the RS+
      curriculum.

      All students for whom consent and assent have been obtained will be asked to complete three
      surveys: (1) a baseline survey administered in health class near the start of the semester,
      (2) a post-program survey administered in health class near the end of the semester, and (3)
      a one-year follow-up survey administered about 12 months after the baseline survey, during
      10th grade
    

Intervention name(s): Healthy Relationship Education; Job Readiness Curriculum
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): RS+ is a widely-implemented healthy relationship education curriculum that aligns with the Georgia Department of Education performance standards in health education. The full curriculum features 12 lessons covering such topics as healthy relationships, dating violence prevention, communication skills, conflict management, and decision making.; Beginning to Work it Out (BWIO) assists youth who are preparing for first-time employment. Topics include recognizing how personal beliefs and behaviors may be perceived in the workplace, as well as "soft skills" such as emotional self-management and problem-solving skills.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment