A research review commissioned by the
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy,
Task Force on Effective Programs and Research
Washington, DC

March 1997

Contents
Preface
The Scope of the Teen Pregnancy Problem
The Challenge of Evaluation
The Types of Programs Reviewed
Education Programs
Programs to Improve Access to Contraceptives
Education Programs for Parents and Their Families
Multi-Component Prevention Programs
Youth Development Programs
Limitations of the Evaluation Research
Key Findings
The Bottom Line
Appendix
Order the Publication

©Copyright 1997 by the National Campaign to Prevent TeenPregnancy. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation: Kirby, D. (1997). No Easy Answers: ResearchFindings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy (Summary). Washington,DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

Founded in 1996, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative supported entirely by privatedonations. The Campaign's mission is to prevent teen pregnancy bysupporting values and stimulating actions that are consistent with apregnancy-free adolescence. The Campaign's goal is to reduce the teenpregnancy rate by one-third by the year 2005.

The Campaign's strategy has five primary components: taking a strong stand against teen pregnancy and attracting new and powerful voices tothis issue; enlisting the help of the media; supporting and stimulatingstate and local action; leading a national discussion about the role ofreligion, culture, and public values in an effort to build commonground; and making sure that everyone's efforts are based on the bestfacts and research available.

The research review was commissioned, reviewed, and approved by the Task Force on Effective Programs and Research of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy:

Chair
Kristin Moore, Ph.D.
President
Child Trends, Inc.

Members
Robert W. Blum, M.D.
Director of General Pediatric
and Adolescent Health Program
University of Minnesota

J.J. Card, Ph.D.
President
Sociometrics Corporation

Jacqueline Darroch Forrest, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President and
Vice President for Research
The Alan Guttmacher Institute

Waldo Johnson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Social Service Administration
University of Chicago

Douglas Kirby, Ph.D.
Director of Research
ETR Associates

Rebecca A. Maynard, Ph.D.
Professor, Graduate School of Education
University of Pennsylvania

Brent Miller, Ph.D.
Professor and Head
Department of Family and Human Development
Utah State University

Freya Sonenstein, Ph.D.
Director of Population Studies Center
The Urban Institute

Barbara Sugland, Sc.D.
Senior Research Associate
Child Trends, Inc.

Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H.
Director
Epidemiology and Prevention Branch
Georgia Department of Human Resources

Stan Weed, Ph.D.
Director
Institute for Research and Evaluation

Brian L. Wilcox, Ph.D.
Director
Center on Children, Families,
and the Law University of Nebraska