Differences among male/female adolescents participating in a school-based teenage education program (STEP) focusing on HIV prevention in india

Introduction: With the rising threat of HIV in India, youth are an important group to reach for prevention education. This pilot study tested the efficacy of STEP (School-based Teenage Education Program focusing on HIV Prevention) for school children. Method: This pilot study randomized 25 schools in Mumbai to receive STEP (N=1846). We trained forty two undergraduates from local colleges to deliver the (six- session) program over a six-week period to eighth graders (age 13-15 years). Outcome measures collected at six weeks were HIV knowledge, attitudes toward abstinence/condom use, peer pressure, and confidence in dealing with risky social situations. A repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted with pretest and posttest scores with knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and confidence as the within-group measures and gender as the between-group measure. Results: Both boys and girls significantly improved on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding HIV/AIDS and in their confidence level in dealing with risky behavior. However girls increased more on knowledge (P<.05), agreement with abstinence (P<.05), and agreement with condom use (P<.001). Girls had significantly less need to follow peers (P<.05), better understanding of precautions against HIV (P<.001), and a higher confidence level in dealing with risky social situations (P<.05). Conclusions: Overall, girls benefited more from the STEP intervention than boys. The literature documents strong gender disparities in HIV/AIDS knowledge, information sources, and consequences of sex for youth in India. However, more work is needed to define and document the reasons for the differences.