Can "16 & Pregnant" Change Teens' Attitudes About Teen Pregnancy? A Randomized Controlled Trial

The objective of this study is to evaluate whether a television show, 16 and Pregnant, can be used as entertainment-education - specifically if it changes teens' attitudes about teen pregnancy and teen parenting. The primary outcome measure will be the change in attitudes about teen pregnancy and teen parenting after the intervention period.

Specific Aim: To determine the effect that watching the TV (television) show 16 and Pregnant has on teen girls' attitudes about teen pregnancy and teen parenting. Attitudes will be measured using the Thoughts on Teen Parenting Survey, which is a 44-item survey with 5-point Likert scale responses. Scores for the entire survey as well as sub-scale scores will be calculated both pre- and post-intervention.

Hypothesis: Teens who are exposed to themes of unintended teen pregnancy will have less favorable attitudes towards teen pregnancy and teen parenting when compared with similar teens not exposed to those themes.

In order to determine if the TV show 16 and Pregnant has any effect on teen girls' attitudes around teen pregnancy and parenting, the investigators plan to conduct a randomized controlled trial of an intervention consisting of watching the television program once a week for 4 weeks. Participants will be randomized to either the intervention arm, which will watch an approximately 45-minute commercial-free episode of the show 16 and Pregnant once a week for 4 weeks, or the control arm, which will not be intentionally exposed to the show. Each group will complete the same pre- and post-test survey to allow for comparisons between the groups.

All participants will be female teens between the ages of 15 and 18. Teens will be excluded if their parents do not permit them to participate, or if they do not assent to participate. They will also be excluded if they report having watched more than one episode (or more than 60 minutes) of 16 and Pregnant previously. The investigators plan to recruit approximately 215 teens to get a sample of 150 participants.