Understanding more about teens' computer-based courtships and training educators to recognize negative behaviours are just two ways Rocky View Schools (RVS)is digging into the complex issue of sexual health to try to decrease pregnancy and infection
Understanding more about teens' computer-based courtships and training educators to recognize negative behaviours are just two ways Rocky View Schools (RVS)is digging into the complex issue of sexual health to try to decrease pregnancy and infection rates in a world that has changed since teachers and parents were young.
“Rocky View kids actually have some of the worst rates of STIs (sexually transmitted infections) in Alberta, as well as the teen pregnancy isn't declining as fast as the rest of the province, ” Chris Pawluk, RVS lead psychologist, said last week. “The health programs aren't working as well here as in other places … We need to do a better job. ”
Pawluk said RVS is taking a “multi-pronged approach ” to sexual health this year in hopes of helping teens have healthier relationships - both emotional and physical - in the long term.
One of those approaches includes working with registered psychologist and University of Calgary PhD student Valerie Willan, who will conduct a month-long research study in RVS schools this fall to learn more about “cyber-based dating aggression ” among young people.
Willan said teenagers have very different ways of communicating with their girlfriends and boyfriends than what most adults experienced growing up - so it can be tough for youth to recognize when couple connections are harmful.
“Our phones are such a part of our lives now. Because teenagers are so immersed in this technology, at times … some of the things that they're doing are wrong or unsafe or unhealthy. They've been born into this cyber-world and they don't know the different options, ” she said.
Willan started exploring the topic during her master's studies, where information she collected from 39 teenage boys and 47 girls aged 17-plus show that “aggressive behaviours between romantic couples using information technology ”occurred in more than one in five relationships.
Willan categorizes those behaviours as emotional or verbal (swearing or name-calling in a text), dominance or threatening (controlling the other partner), intrusive (jealousy-based comments like ‘Where are you? Who are you with?'), relational aggression (posting embarrassing photos, spreading rumours) and sexual (nude photos).
She used an example of one student who told her she goes through her boyfriend's phone all the time, but said, “he doesn't care. ”
“A lot of times I think teenagers are engaging in this type of behaviour … and they're not understanding that it's wrong, or it's unhealthy in a relationship, ” Willan said, adding her research suggests if this type of aggression is happening across digital platforms, that it's most likely happening in real life, to some degree.
For teens who participate in her more comprehensive PhD study, Willan has constructed an app that includes at least once-a-day reporting to capture the raw emotions and details of teenagers' dating experiences as soon as possible.
“We want to know, even on days that it's not happening, ” she said. “If it does happen, they will comment on … what type of aggression, how they felt, how they reacted and how it affected their relationship satisfaction. ”
The app also includes a passcode to protect privacy, as well as a directory of resources for help, including distress centre and teen help line phone numbers.
Willan ran a pilot project in the middle of May in RVS schools to test the app with students ages 17 and up. This fall, she will roll out the full voluntary, confidential program across RVS for one month. She hopes to analyze the data, write her dissertation and have details back to officials within about a year.
Pawluk said Willan's study came across the division's desk at the right time - as it looks to revamp sexual health programming in an attempt to improve rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections within the school community.
Pawluk said healthy relationships are one component of educating teens on how to make good and responsible decisions when it comes to sex and sexuality. Willan's information will shed light on how students are dating through their devices.
“This is a thing that hasn't really been talked about … How much of that electronic cyber piece do we need to add to those healthy relationship programs? ” he said. “We've talked about your friendships … now what about people that you have a more intense or intimate relationship with? How do you manage that? How do you control that? We just wanted to see if we could start to have those conversations. ”
RVS has also entered a partnership with the Calgary Sexual Health Centre, which brings in experts to coach educators through the thorny and at-times uncomfortable topics of sex, sexuality and safety.
The Calgary centre has trained more than 25,000 professionals since 2009, and CEO Pam Krause said they know it's critical for teachers to have the right tools to help.
“The science teacher and the math teacher and the gym teacher all have a role in understanding the concept that we're talking about. (They) may be able to identify when a healthy relationship is not happening, ” said Krause, adding having a neutral party at school to talk to could be critical for teens in smaller communities.
“If you're 14 and if the pharmacist is your uncle, you may not feel comfortable accessing what you might need. ”
Krause said she also believes that if educators first discuss the overall importance of healthy relationships at a younger age - like how to form meaningful and respectful connections with parents, friends and teachers - the lesson will translate to more intimate partnerships when students get older.
“We really focus on … how to have a relationship, even with a friend of family, ” she said. “Where it begins is that they're having healthier relationships with their parents and their siblings, ” she said. “Then, when they get into high school, that's where youth are starting to decide if they want to be in a sexual relationship. Hopefully we'll start to help make an impact. ”
RVS is also revising its parent consent form for human sexuality classes in order to better inform moms and dads of the topics being covered. Pawluk said he hopes a more detailed curriculum breakdown will give parents the choice (if they want) to opt their kids out of only certain classes, rather than the entire program as a whole.
“We're trying to just make that clearer for people: we're going to teach your child about these three things on this day. You as a parent can make a more informed choice, ” said Pawluk, adding he hopes to complete the new consent form by the second semester.
Ultimately, Pawluk said he hopes that by facing the issues surrounding sexual health from several different angles, RVS will start to see more kids making it through to graduation.
“We can do something about teenage pregnancy, ” he said.
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