Evaluation of Are You Ready?

Evaluation of Are You Ready?

The goal of this randomized trial is to learn if the Are You Ready? (AYR) intervention has a positive impact on the sexual and mental health behaviors of sexually active youth between the ages of 14 and 22 years old who are at risk for or involved in the juvenile justice and/or child welfare systems. The primary research questions it aims to answer are:

• Three months after being offered the intervention, does AYR impact youth's receipt of sexually transmitted infection testing in the past three months?
• Three months after being offered the intervention, does AYR impact youth's use of coping skills?
• Nine months after being offered the intervention, does AYR impact youth's frequency of having vaginal and anal sex without condoms in the past three months?

Researchers will compare participants randomized to receive AYR (treatment group) to participants randomized to receive a control condition that contains no sexual or reproductive health information (control group).

Participants randomized to the treatment group will be offered AYR as a virtual or in-person, 2.5 hour group session. Participants randomized to the control group will be offered a virtually delivered control condition.

This is an individual-level, randomized control trial to rigorously evaluate the impact of the Are You Ready? (AYR) intervention. Participant outcomes will be assessed using self-reported, individual-level data gathered using a structured questionnaire administered at three time points: baseline (enrollment); three months post-intervention (four months after baseline); and nine months post-intervention (ten months after baseline).

Inclusion Criteria:

• At risk for or involved in the juvenile justice and/or child welfare systems
• Has had vaginal or anal sex in the last 6 months or has ever had vaginal or anal sex and self-report likelihood of having sex in the next 6 months
• Comfortable reading, speaking, and writing in English
• United States resident

Exclusion Criteria:

• Has received other known sexual and reproductive health evidence-based interventions implemented in their local area.
• Enrolled in an ongoing PRG-run TPP study
• Identified as fraudulent