Search

Indirect forms of intergroup contact have been shown to reduce prejudice. However, little is known about the factors that can contribute to implementing these methods as interventions in real‐life settings. In this study, we examined whether the students' perception of the facilitator's engagement in carrying out a school‐based vicarious contact intervention affects the effectiveness of the intervention among adolescents in Finland (N = 360), Italy (N = 113), and Slovakia (N = 216). As a result, the participants who perceived the facilitator as highly engaged held more positive intergroup attitudes after the intervention than those perceiving the facilitator less engaged. The results are discussed in relation to social and developmental psychological research on normative influences in adolescence and intergroup contact literature, in which normative support from authorities is considered to contribute to the extent to which contact reduces prejudice. By stressing the role of the facilitator, the results contribute both theoretically and practically to the understanding of the successful implementation of prejudice‐reduction programs. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We examined the differential impact of a well-established human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) curriculum, Be Proud! Be Responsible!, when taught by school nurses and health education classroom teachers within a high school curricula., Methods: Group-randomized intervention study of 1357 ninth and tenth grade students in 10 schools. Twenty-seven facilitators (6 nurses, 21 teachers) provided programming; nurse-led classrooms were randomly assigned., Results: Students taught by teachers were more likely to report their instructor to be prepared, comfortable with the material, and challenged them to think about their health than students taught by a school nurse. Both groups reported significant improvements in HIV/STI/condom knowledge immediately following the intervention, compared to controls. Yet, those taught by school nurses reported significant and sustained changes (up to 12 months after intervention) in attitudes, beliefs, and efficacy, whereas those taught by health education teachers reported far fewer changes, with sustained improvement in condom knowledge only., Conclusions: Both classroom teachers and school nurses are effective in conveying reproductive health information to high school students; however, teaching the technical (eg, condom use) and interpersonal (eg, negotiation) skills needed to reduce high-risk sexual behavior may require a unique set of skills and experiences that health education teachers may not typically have., (© 2015, American School Health Association.)