Optimizing Sex Education with the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Theory of Planned Behavior in Sex Education The theory of planned behavior (TPB) describes the role of intention in influencing behavior and how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control influence intentions. Darabi et al. (2017) make convincing conclusions on the effectiveness of the TPB in facilitating behavior change among adolescent girls. The results of the study demonstrate that the change in the treatment group was significantly greater than the change in the control group. According to the findings, the participants receiving education and behavior change using the TPB approach experienced greater change in attitude, intention, and behavior change regarding sex education than those in the control group. The researchers offer convincing conclusions showing support for the application of TPB in sex education in the target population. Approaches to sex education using the TPB constructs should focus on influencing the antecedent variables for intention to achieve changes in behavior. Darabi et al. (2017) describe that the study influenced attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior using a wide range of interventions to measure differences in outcomes with the control group. The study used role-playing, animation training, and story-writing to influence attitude, booklets for subjective norms, and small group discussions and booklets for behavior control among other tools (Yuriev et al., 2020). The article gives a comprehensive discussion of the methods the researchers used to model each of the antecedents and the addition of parental control as an additional construct. TPB constructs are used appropriately in the study to influence intention and behavior relating to sex education among the participants. Applying the theory of reasoned action (TRA) would influence the antecedents and the methods the researchers used to include the constructs of the model into the study. The results would show how evaluation and appraisals and subjective norms influenced motivation towards a particular desired behavior. The constructs for TRA would include factors that influence the perceived pressure from other people to engage in a certain behavior and the appraisal methods the society has put in place (Nardi-Rodríguez et al. 2019). The results of the study could show that the participants weighed the effects of their actions as a result of the intervention. They would have used their knowledge in sex education and subjective norms to make decisions that would lead to the best outcomes. A randomized controlled trial is appropriate for the study since it limits the effect of selection bias when allocating participants to intervention and control groups. The findings of the study seek to determine if there are differences in the behavior of girls undergoing different models of sex education. Using a randomized controlled design was appropriate since it reduces the effect of the researchers' bias in the study (Bosnjak et al., 2020). Bias influences the decisions that researchers make when allocating participants to groups during the study and affects the accuracy of the results and the application of the findings. For instance, applying the design in the current study reduced the risk of allocating participants discriminatively into the groups based on factors such as age and their stage in education that could lead to false evidence. A randomized controlled trial brings the researchers closer to the cause-effect conclusion. While the findings could be generalized to the United States and other countries, application should involve the role of cultural implications on the study. The high school girls in Iran are exposed to significantly different cultural environments than those in the United States and other parts of the world (Ajzen, 2020). Some aspects of the study may vary when the findings are applied among populations of girls in other cultures. For instance, part of the TPB is the application of subjective norms that are highly dependent on the culture of the population. Scholars applying the findings outside the scope of the original study should consider the cultural implications of the population on the perceived behavior and intention. The study could offer insights to researchers studying the TPB on sex education among high school girls in any part of the world while recognizing social and cultural factors. Self-reporting increases the...