Wyman’s Teen Outreach Program® (TOP®)
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Country of application
Description

This is a curricular social and emotional education program for students from 11 to 19 years old who are in vulnerable situations. The objective is to improve social and emotional skills, increase academic performance, and reduce antisocial behaviors.
The program consists of group discussions, mentoring, and community assistance. The intervention curriculum addresses topics on adolescence, sex education, emotional regulation, self-esteem building, and peer interaction.
The program is implemented by facilitators and is structured in 25 weekly sessions, with a community service component that extends the period of care to a minimum of 32 weeks.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies show lower rates of school failure and school suspension [1] [2] [3].
The results indicate that, after the program, beneficiaries were less likely to report having had sexual intercourse, recent sexual intercourse, sexual intercourse without wearing a condom, or the intention to have sexual intercourse during the following year. After the 1-year follow-up period, participants were less likely to report pregnancy [4].
Statistically significant reductions in school failure and unexcused absence from school were identified [5].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Glasgow, K. L., Dornbusch, S. M., Troyer, L., Steinberg, L. & Ritter, P. L. (1997). Parenting Styles, Adolescents' Attributions, and Educational Outcomes in Nine Heterogeneous High Schools. Child Development, 68(3), 507–529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb01955.x

[2] Walsh-Buhi, E. R., Marhefka, S. L., Wang, W., Debate, R., Perrin, K., Singleton, A., Noble, C. A., Rahman, S., Maness, S. B., Mahony, H., Ziemba, R., Malmi, M., Marwah, E., Hall, K., Turner, D., Blunt-Vinti, H., Noble, S. M. & Daley, E. M. (2016). The Impact of the Teen Outreach Program on Sexual Intentions and Behaviors. The Journal of Adolescent Health : Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 59(3), 283–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.05.007

[3] Moore McBride, A., Chung, S. & Robertson, A. (2016). Preventing Academic Disengagement Through a Middle School–Based Social and Emotional Learning Program. Journal of Experiential Education, 39(4), 370–385. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825916668901

[4] Daley, E. M., Marhefka, S. L., Wang, W., Noble, C. A., Mahony, H., Arzola, S., Singleton, A., Malmi, M., Ziemba, R., Turner, D., Marwah, E. & Walsh-Buhi, E. R. (2019). Longitudinal evaluation of the Teen Outreach Programme: Impacts of a health promotion programme on risky sexual behaviours. Health Education Journal, 78(8), 916–930. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896919857777