Research Proposal

Ascending Adolescence: The Successful Pathway to Adulthood

Introduction to the research

Examining the efficacy of the Adulting Program and to propose a structured module to be implemented. The Adulting Program is an annual initiative by Agape Vision to provide psycho-education for at-risk youth. This program prepares youth in the aspect of human rights, job hunting, financial education, sexual education and psychological maturity.

Targeted population - At-risk Youth

At-risk youths refer to individuals aged between 18-24 years old who are vulnerable to domestic violence, sexual abuse, higher chance of disciplinary issues, drug and alcohol abuse. These individuals have been identified to having difficulties in a successful transition into adulthood and future relationships.

Problem statement

Due to the abusive environment that the youths have been exposed since young, they have misconceptions and misconstrued beliefs about rights and sexual education. The long term oppression experienced by these youths have detrimental effects on psychological health such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, recurring nightmares, inability to perform sexual behaviors with significant others, depression and anxiety, Besides that traumatic experience suffered at young age can have deleterious effect on their future, such as attraction to toxic relationship, inability to form healthy intimate relationship, lower self-esteem and self-confidence, trust issues and higher risk of substance abuse.
Furthermore, the lack of understanding and knowledge regarding basic human rights will result in further exploitation such as child labor. Hence, it is crucial to provide the youths with correct knowledge regarding their rights and sexual education.

Aims of this study

The focus of our study is the importance and implementation of 2 topics, which are Rights and Sexual Education within the Adulting Program. These 2 topics have been implemented since the commencement of the Adulting Program. However, there were no studies to measure the efficacy of the program. Due to the limited involvement of researchers, this study would only measure the efficacy of 2 topics which are Rights and Sexual Education.

Methodology

Design of this research

A longitudinal within group comparison method will be used to assess the efficacy and knowledge retention of the topics. Within group in this study refers to the use of same participants. This is to minimize individual differences.

Instruments

The survey consists of four parts, which are demographics, Human Rights Awareness, Sexual Health and Safe Sex Behavior.

Participants

The targeted participants of this study are youths aged between 18 to 24, from various welfare and shelter homes that participate in the Adulting Program are invited to take part in the study. 

Procedure

The questionnaire will be distributed to participants 15 minutes before the first session of the Adulting Program. Once the session starts, a neutral research will collect all the questionnaires. This is to prevent, respondents from changing the answer throughout the session. After 3 months, researchers would contact the participants using the contact details left in the first survey. The participants would then be invited to do a follow-up survey. To avoid practice effect, questions would be randomized in the second survey. 

Expected outcomes

After the implementation of the session it is expected to be useful for the youths. The efficacy can be seen reflected in the scores of 2 questionnaires, which is Human Rights Awareness and Sexual Health. Besides that, it is hypothesized that there will be an increase in Safe Sex Behavior where youths will be more likely to practice safer sex. 

Pilot study outcomes

A pilot study was ran to assess the contents and structure of the 2 module (Rights and Sexual Education). Results were positive, where participants indicated that the contents were useful. Overall, the two topics were well received. The flow and duration of the 2 modules were above average. Hence, it can be concluded that the duration and contents of these 2 modules are suitable for the youths. 

Limitation

The pilot study was limited to a sample size of 15 participants. Future studies should increase the sample size. 

Implication

This study serves as a corner stone in preparing a module tailored for at-risk youths. This population requires structured modules, with a set of standardised contents to cover for the topics of Rights and Sexual Education. The contents are structured to target specific areas that at-risk youth have difficulties in understanding. For example, the proposed module includes the aspect of psychological and emotional responsibility in contrast to the traditional Sexual Education. In the future, this structured module could be translated into different languages in hopes of helping non-English speaking youths. 

Acknowledgements

Finally, we would like to acknowledge our Academic Advisor (Prof Uma Devi Palanisamy) and Field Educator (Gillian Chong) in providing us with relevant knowledge and support throughout the Campus Community Engagement program. We also highly appreciate the opportunity to take part in this CCE program.

For more details on our research, please follow this link