Effectiveness of Sex Education Interventions in Adolescents: An Overview

The objective of this overview was to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of sex education interventions aimed at reducing sexual risk behaviors in adolescents. A search was conducted of systematic reviews in English, Spanish and Portuguese from 1946 until July 2018 in the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, Scopus, PsyArticles, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, LILACS and additional resources. The extraction and analysis of data was synthesized in a narrative mode describing intervention, population, and key outcomes such as decreased risky sexual behavior, decreases in sexually transmitted infections, and adolescent pregnancy. There were 2289 potentially relevant studies, of which 31 systematic reviews related to adolescent interventions were included. It was demonstrated that interventions involve parents and the community as participants, are based on audiovisual media and school workshops, and their emphasis is on information and training in school. Different reviews framed in methods of psychosocial intervention based on community groups and the home as a fundamental axis were reported. Finally, a large amount of scientific evidence related to the subject was identified. New directions are presented for interventions in sexual education for adolescents based on the combination of actions and techniques, the implementation of digital technology, and socio-cultural and contextual adaptations.

本综述旨在识别并评估旨在减少青少年性风险行为的性教育干预措施的有效性。本研究检索了1946年至2018年7月期间发表于英语、西班牙语及葡萄牙语的系统综述，检索数据库包括MEDLINE（Ovid）、EMBASE、Scopus、PsyArticles、Cochrane对照试验中心注册库（Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials）、LILACS及其他补充资源。研究采用叙事性综合方式对数据进行提取与分析，围绕干预措施、研究人群及关键结局展开描述，包括危险性行为减少、性传播感染率下降以及青少年妊娠率降低。本研究初筛得到2289篇潜在相关文献，最终纳入31篇针对青少年干预的系统综述。研究显示，此类干预措施以家长与社区作为参与主体，依托视听媒介与学校工作坊开展，核心聚焦于学校内的信息传播与技能培训。另有多篇综述聚焦于以社区团体与家庭为核心框架的社会心理干预方法。本研究最终识别出大量与该主题相关的科学证据，并基于多措施技术组合、数字技术应用以及社会文化与情境适配，提出了青少年性教育干预的新方向。