Date of Award
2024
Degree Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Psychology, PhD
Program
School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation
Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair
Anna Woodcock
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Jason Siegel
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Wesley Schultz
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Penny Harvey
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Rights Information
© 2024 Kathleen McGinley
Keywords
LGBTQ, SDT, Sex Ed, Sexuality
Subject Categories
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Psychology
Abstract
Sex Education (Sex Ed) is crucial in the United States due to its impact on health, finance, politics, and education. Despite existing programs, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies worldwide according to the 2021 dataset collected by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The Department of Health and Services advocates for increased education to reduce these rates. This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of Sex Ed by examining the role of identity, priming, Self-Determination Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. It focused on information retention, attitude change, and intentions to practice safe sex in LGBTQ inclusive, autonomy primed, or abstinence inclusive programs. Three experimental studies were conducted: the first on the impact of inclusionary priming on LGBTQ individuals, the second on the impact of autonomy and competency priming, and the third on the acceptance of abstinence as a valid option. While the priming effects were non-significant, significant main effects linked with identity (both LGBTQ and abstinent only) were found across all the studies. The research aimed to explore how these approaches can reduce unplanned pregnancies and slow the spread of STIs.
ISBN
9798302826916
Recommended Citation
McGinley, Kathleen. (2024). “It’s All About Sex [Education] Baby, Let’s Talk About SDT!” :The Impact of Identity and Priming on Retention of Sex Ed Information. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 916. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/916.
