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Employers face many dilemmas in effectively implementing work–life flexibility to support employees' personal lives. A key issue is that some employees hold jobs with limited opportunities for work–life flexibility, making them susceptible to burnout; yet most employers believe they can do little to mitigate this dynamic. Furthermore, even when employees hold jobs with greater access to work–life flexibility, some do not take advantage of their flexibility to more fully engage in work and/or home roles. These issues are further exacerbated when supervisors are unsure of their role in supporting work–life flexibility. We identify work–life supportive context as a key factor that provides solutions to these dilemmas. Drawing on job demands resources theory, we posit that, when organizations provide work–life supportive training to supervisors, it promotes a work–life supportive context (i.e., signaling that the organization is supportive of employees' managing their work–life interface), which mitigates burnout for those with limited work–life flexibility and promotes engagement in work and home roles for those with greater work–life flexibility. Results from a year‐long randomized field experiment suggest that, in contexts with trained supervisors and lower employee control over work schedules and boundaries (i.e., lower work–life flexibility), emotional exhaustion is reduced. In contexts with trained supervisors and higher employee control over work boundaries (i.e., higher work–life flexibility), family engagement increases. Surprisingly, irrespective of job access to work‐life flexibility, supervisor participation in work–life support training did not enhance employee work engagement. Implications of our findings for fostering work–life supportive contexts are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared sexual/reproductive health services and sexuality education topics provided in Texas alternative high schools (AHSs) with the prevalence of sexual risk behaviors among students in AHS. Using cross-sectional data from convenience samples of 14 principals, 14 lead health educators, and 515 students, we calculated descriptive statistics for 20 services and 15 sexuality education topics provided by AHSs and seven sexual risk behaviors among students in AHS. AHSs provided few sexual/reproductive health services and limited educational content, despite high levels of sexual risk taking among students. For example, no AHSs taught students about proper condom use, yet 84% of students have had sex. Findings provide preliminary evidence of unmet needs for school-based sexual/reproductive health services and comprehensive sexuality education in AHS settings. Future investigation with larger, representative samples is needed to assess the provision of sexual/reproductive health services and sexuality education in AHSs and monitor sexual risk behaviors in the AHS population.

The Sexual Health And Peer Education (SHAPE) program implemented in middle schools in Oklahoma County utilizes a hybrid adult and peer educator model to deliver sexual health programming. While peer educators have been incorporated into school-based sexual health programs in the past, this program is unique in its approach to preparing and engaging peer educators. Researchers synthesized data from interviews with program implementers and focus group discussions with teenage peer educators and middle school students who recently participated in the program to understand the process elements that contribute to the benefit of the SHAPE program model. Interviews with program implementers described the thorough peer educator recruitment and training process. Teenage peer educators felt well-prepared to deliver lessons, and through this program, they developed leadership skills, confidence, and grew personally. Middle school students revealed that peer educators were relatable and provided a positive experience where they could engage and ask questions. The application of a hybrid adult and teenage peer educator model proved useful for delivering sexual health topics and benefited students and teenage peer educators. This study's findings highlight elements that can be utilized in future sexual health programming to prepare and engage teenage peer educators in more meaningful ways.

Game-based learning offers an interactive and effective way to teach health content and skills. This article discusses feasibility testing of "Using the Connect" ("UTC"), an innovative, game-based sexuality education program to evaluate its acceptability among youth. Utilizing mixed methods in a single case study design, qualitative and quantitative data was collected from youth (surveys, facilitated discussions, and observations). Qualitative data triangulated quantitative findings that youth liked the program design, felt the games and content were relatable, and learned knowledge and skills around adolescent development, accessing information, communication, and making healthy decisions through playing the games. Overall, "UTC" was highly acceptable to the youth; they had fun and learned information and skills. Not only would most participants recommend the program to friends, all reported they would participate in the program again and use the information they learned in the future.

School-based sexuality education provides a means of disseminating valuable information about decision making and avoidance of risky behaviors that may result in an unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection; however, effective teacher training is required for efficacious sexuality education programs. The purpose of this paper is to describe changes in participants' perceptions and adoption of evidence-based sexuality education after attending a unique professional development opportunity for teachers of sexuality education using a Diffusion of Innovation Theory framework. Methods: A non-representative sample of 20 public school health education teachers (85% female) from across the state of Texas participated in the Sexuality Education Academy (SEA), and completed pre-, post-, and six-month follow-up Web-based surveys. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to measure change in perceptions and adoption of evidence-based sexuality education. Results: Statistically significant changes were found between pre- and post-test scores in "relative advantage," "compatibility," "complexity," and "observability." At six-month follow-up, participants indicated increased advocacy for and implementation of evidence-based sexuality education practices. Conclusions: Teacher training can improve sexuality education teachers' understanding, confidence and effectiveness in delivery of evidence-based sexuality education within school settings.

Unhealthy relationships have a devastating impact on adolescents' academic performance, including poor attendance, difficulty concentrating, and feeling unsafe at school. Schools provide an ideal setting to positively influence adolescents' attitudes, knowledge, and relationship skills by integrating healthy relationship lessons into sexuality and/or violence prevention units. The primary goal of these units is to promote positive health behaviors and reduce unhealthy behaviors in order to decrease adolescents' risk for short- and long-term academic and health consequences. Therefore, the purpose of this teaching technique is to increase adolescents' ability to identify characteristics and corresponding behaviors of healthy and unhealthy relationships including romantic/dating, friendships, and familial relationships.

This study assessed the prevalence of verbally being put down by others and intrapersonal and normative factors associated with being put down by others among middle and high school students. Students (N = 1,027) completed the Adolescent Health Risk Behavior Survey. Over 16% of participants reported being put down at school. Students who identified with the negative words confused, unattractive, dull, and careless and identified less with the positive words popular, smart, considerate, cool, and self-confident reported being put down by others. High school students were less likely to be put down. As students scored higher on the Negative Self-Description Scale, their odds of being put down increased. As students scored higher on the Positive Self-Description Scale, their odds of being put down decreased. Students who perceived their friends drinking alcohol regularly were less likely to be put down. Strategies to enhance self-perceptions to raise self-awareness and form healthy/positive identities are needed.

Excessive drinking among college students, which is influenced by an array of factors ranging from campus norms to membership in student organizations, has been linked to consequences including motor vehicle accidents, cognitive deficits, arrests, overdoses, assaults, and death. Considering the severity of consequences related to drinking, education on alcohol safety is essential. Communicating alcohol safety messages via social media outlets serves as a platform for members of campus-based student organizations to influence their peers to practice safe alcohol behaviors, which may lead to a decrease in negative alcohol-related outcomes for college students. This teaching technique will engage participants to develop social media messages to advocate for and promote alcohol safety. The leadership qualities of communicating, listening, and having relationships will guide participants as they create advocacy messages for alcohol safety that can be shared on social media outlets.

In the USA, persons of Hispanic ethnicity experience higher rates of adolescent pregnancy and STIs than non-Hispanic white youth and there exists a lack of research concerning the sexuality education preferences of Hispanic adolescents. This study describes sexual health education preferences by Hispanic ethnicity among a high-risk sample of young people aged 14-20 years in Texas. Data were collected from participants in a teenage pregnancy prevention programme. Questions included preferred topics, provider of information and learning modality. Just over half of the participants was Hispanic (60%), nearly all participants were sexually experienced (96%) and more than half had been pregnant or caused a pregnancy (66%). Hispanic participants were significantly less likely to want to learn about sexual health from parents compared to non-Hispanic participants. Hispanic participants were also significantly less likely to prefer to learn about puberty and adolescent development, or to select role-playing as a preferred learning modality. Findings from the study provide evidence about the kind of sexual health topics US Hispanic adolescents are interested in as well as from who they prefer to receive sexuality education. Understanding these educational preferences can be useful to inform future policy and programming.

Would You Rather (WYR), with a Sexual Health Twist! teaching technique uses two youth games, "Would you rather…" and Twister®, to actively engage students in developing decision-making skills regarding human sexuality. Utilizing the "Would you rather" choices, the teacher provides a short scenario with two difficult choices. Student groups identify the choice they believe is best, provide three reasons for the group choice, and offer one pro and con for the choice. Additionally, student groups provide one source of credible health information related to their choice. The lesson incorporates the game Twister® to facilitate student movement when reporting the "Would you rather…" choice their group selected. Student assessment includes an interactive discussion identifying which choice was most challenging, the importance of considering the pros and cons prior to making decisions, and common characteristics of credible health information sources.

Faculty and staff health promotion is a cost-saving component of coordinated school health, but little is known about the comprehensiveness of these programs. Self-insured school districts require employees to contribute directly to the district's health insurance pool. The purpose of this pilot study was to identify the prevalence of self-insurance within Texas school districts and compare districts' health promotion efforts to agency-insured counterparts. Using an electronic questionnaire, human resource personnel described the characteristics of their district's insurance status, health insurance coverage, health promotion program components, and considerations when planning health-promoting activities or services for school faculty and staff. Thirteen percent of respondents reported their school districts as self-insured. No significant differences between self-insured and agency-insured districts were discovered regarding health insurance coverage, district-offered health promotion, physical activity promotion, planning considerations, or utilization of community resources. Regardless of insurance type, findings indicated an overall lack in comprehensiveness of district-offered health promotion services. This study supports the need to further investigate this school health component so that district employees can financially and physically benefit from health promotion activities or services.

Background: Violent behaviors have devastating impacts on youth and adolescents. National standards offer a framework for age and developmentally appropriate health education expectations. This study provides findings from a systematic review and analysis of teen dating violence (TDV) prevention curricula using National Sexuality Education Standards (NSES) and National Health Education Standards (NHES). Methods: Evidence-based and/or practice informed interventions for TDV prevention were compiled and analyzed. We used a standardized review instrument to analyze each curriculum (N = 11); each curriculum was reviewed independently and results met inter-rater agreement requirements. Data were analyzed to determine NSES and NHES inclusion. Results: This study provides findings from the TDV prevention curriculum analysis using the NSES. Five NSES topic areas were addressed in the TDV prevention curriculum and included personal safety, healthy relationships, identity, sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficieny virus, and pregnancy and reproduction. Personal safety was the most included topic and ranged from 37% to 77%. Healthy relationships were the second most included NSES and ranged from 11% to 53%. Inclusions of NHES skills, as they are embedded within the NSES, are identified. Conclusions: Curricula decision-makers gain insight by conducting reviews before recommendations are made or the adoption process is complete. The NSES and NHES support expectations for TDV prevention and can guide curricula adoption for a school or district. School professionals should work together to ensure TDV prevention curricula complements sexuality education units. While TDV curricula may cover critical topics, a singular focus on one content area cannot replace comprehensive sexuality education.

The current study examines complexities in relationships between need satisfaction at work, need satisfaction at home, work‐to‐family enrichment (WFE) and well‐being (in terms of positive affect). Competing theoretical perspectives are offered regarding relationships between need satisfaction and WFE. The first perspective, based in a domain specificity approach focused on the directional nature of WFE, suggests that need satisfaction at work is what matters for employees' WFE, irrespective of their need satisfaction at home. Alternatively, a second perspective proposes that both need satisfaction at work and need satisfaction at home represent important factors in employees' experiences of WFE and that congruence (i.e. similarity) between these two constructs is what matters for WFE. Competing hypotheses are tested in a sample of 204 full‐time employees who completed both a work and home survey and were rated on well‐being at home by a significant other. Results support the first perspective for competence need satisfaction and relatedness need satisfaction, while the second perspective is supported for autonomy need satisfaction. For all three needs, indirect relationships are found with well‐being, both at work and at home, via WFE. Relevant theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State policy and curriculum standards establish general guidelines regarding sexuality education while local school boards decide how teachers provide sexuality education. Local school districts may utilize programs and speakers from outside organizations and locally produced materials for sexuality education. Purpose: This article examines Texas curricular materials that commonly rely on scare and shaming tactics to teach students sexuality education. Methods: Materials provided by 990 Texas school districts were evaluated. The information related to the content of sexuality education was catalogued and entered into an SPSS database. Results: Problems with fear-based instruction about sexuality fell into three broad categories: 1) exaggerating negative consequences of sexual behavior; 2) demonizing sexually active youth; and 3) cultivating shame and guilt to discourage sexual activity. Conclusions: Informing students about realistic consequences of sexual activity is a vital element of sexuality education; however, in their eagerness to scare students away from a behavior (i.e. sexual activity), teachers use exaggerated, misleading, and misinterpreted facts. Recommendations: Young people need scientific, medically accurate information about sexuality to help them make healthy decisions. The use of fear, shame and guilt are not supported educational strategies in sexuality education.

At-risk adolescents may experience Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) that lead to higher rates of risky sexual behavior, including increased risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. These SDoH may include components such as unstable family structures, incomplete education, and poverty. Targeting at-risk youth for sexuality education is one way to work toward decreasing sexual health disparities. However, preferences for sexuality education approaches may differ among at-risk youth by additional factors including sex and sexual orientation. The purpose of this study was to describe sexuality education preferences among at-risk youth and how sexuality education preferences differ based on sex and sexual orientation in an at-risk sample of high school-aged youth in Texas. Results indicate sexuality education preferences differ based on sex and sexual orientation when examined by sexual health topics and methods of delivery. Implications of this study indicate including at-risk youth in sexual health programs may be a way to target those at-risk of adverse SDoH, but these groups also have specific preferences for sexuality education.

Background: Diffusion of Innovations theory has been used to predict rates of adoption for a variety of programs. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess indicators that influence adoption of abstinence-only-until-marriage education as an innovation by middle school principals in Texas (N=433) as well as their likelihood of adopting such programs. Methods: This study utilized a paper survey that was mailed to principals. Results: Findings regarding characteristics of abstinence-only-until-marriage education: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability are analyzed and discussed. In addition, a series of multiple regression models to predict the likelihood of adoption are presented. Discussion: Findings indicated that middle school principals most willing to adopt abstinence-only-until-marriage education programs strongly believed that abstinence education provided important advantages, and perceived abstinence-only-until-marriage education to be consistent with his or her beliefs and values. Controlling for demographics, religious preferences and behavior, and the perceptions of the attributes of abstinence-only-until-marriage education, the principals' religious beliefs/practices, complexity and trialability remained significantly associated with the likelihood to adopt. Translation to Health Education Practice: Rates of adoption by school administrators should be considered when implementing a new health curriculum or health-related educational program, especially when it is a sensitive subject such as sexuality. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study investigated the relationship between parenting stress and relational conditioning. Fourteen students who were not mothers, 14 mothers who reported high parenting stress and 14 mothers with low parenting stress completed two matching-to-sample (MTS) computer tasks, each requiring formation of three 3-member classes. The first MTS task examined class acquisition, with neutral symbols and stimuli theorized to be emotionally relevant to parents (i.e., negative child behavior words) or not (i.e., fruit or medical words). The second task required participants to form classes that included symbols, negative child behaviors and positive parenting words. Statistical analyses were conducted on number of trials needed to meet criterion, percent correct in training and testing, and latency to respond. Overall, distressed mothers were slower to respond than other participants. However, in MTS 1, they responded more quickly and made fewer errors in response to stimuli in the child behavior class. Further, they obtained a higher percent correct for these items than the other participants. In the second MTS, distressed mothers required more trials to reach criterion and made more errors than the other participants. Findings indicate that emotionally relevant stimuli are easily related to other things. However, once formed, emotionally relevant classes are difficult to relate in new ways. The findings may have important clinical and treatment implications for parents, particularly if computer responding relates to "real-world" inflexible parenting. (Contains 4 figures.)