1. Research & Evaluation
  2. Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program Evaluations
  3. Making Proud Choices! (MPC) Impact Evaluation

Making Proud Choices! (MPC) Impact Evaluation

Making Proud Choices! (MPC) is a popular evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program that had not been rigorously evaluated since one initial study in 1998. In 2017, the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) launched a new study to assess the program’s effectiveness.

Key Questions

  • MPC implementation: How was MPC delivered and what were the experiences of health educators and youth in the study?  
  • What was the effect of MPC on the following risk and protective factors that are antecedents to sexual behavior?: Knowledge of HIV/STIs, pregnancy, condoms, and other forms of contraception; beliefs about sexual activity as a teen, communication with partners, and condom use; attitudes about condom use; skill and self-efficacy related to condom use, condom use negotiation, and refusal.
  • What was the effect of MPC on the following sexual behavior outcomes?: Sexual initiation; frequency of sex; having sex without a condom; having vaginal sex without birth control.
  • What was the effect of MPC on the incidence of the following longer-term health outcomes?: Pregnancy; STIs (including HIV).
  • Was the effect of MPC the same across cities, genders, instances of random assignment, or sexual experiences measured at baseline? 

Study Design

This study used a cluster randomized controlled trial design and included 31 randomized clusters and more than 2,800 youth in 9th and 10th grades. Data was collected at baseline and six-months after the end of programming.

Study Findings

The study found that MPC had statistically significant and favorable impacts on 9 of 10 risk and protective factors and a statistically significant and favorable impact on one sexual behavior. Find more information in the evaluation report and fact sheet.