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Abstract
The current study explores changes in youth’s (n = 889) reports across various mechanisms of risk avoidance and their association with their intentions to delay sexual intercourse following participation in the youth relationship education program, Relationship Smarts Plus (RS+). The mechanisms of risk avoidance examined included youth’s reports of their (a) likelihood of avoiding drugs and alcohol, (b) ability to regulate their emotions, (c) educational aspirations, (d) understanding of healthy relationships, and (e) ability to resist pressure to have sex. Results showed that youth who reported increases in mechanisms of risk avoidance were also more likely to report greater intentions to delay sexual intercourse until after graduating high school, graduating college, and until marriage. Lastly, variations in these associations were not found based on youth’s sex and their reports of program experience. Overall, these finding offer continued support for the potential benefits of relationship education in sexual avoidance educational efforts.