Focusing on the Boys: The Longer-Term Impacts of Wise Guys in Davenport, Iowa

This is the last in a series of reports on the implementation and impacts of Wise Guys in Davenport middle schools. It presents evidence on the program’s longer-term impacts after two years. It also provides information on program costs and documents the study methods.

An earlier report presented evidence on the program’s shorter-term impacts after one year. That report showed that Wise Guys boys had better knowledge of contraception and sexually transmitted infections, and expressed greater support when asked about the importance of condom use among sexually active youth (Goesling et al. 2017). Relative to the regular sex education curriculum, the program did not change boys’ risk of sexual initiation, intentions to have sex, relationship attitudes, goal-setting abilities, or communication skills after one year.

• As a supplement to the regular school curriculum, Wise Guys did not reduce boys’ likelihood of sexual initiation; at the end of the two-year follow-up, these rates were low for both research groups.
• The longer-term impact findings did show, however, that Wise Guys led to a sustained increase in students’ knowledge of contraception and sexually transmitted infections after two years, increased their support of condom use, and strengthened boys’ motivation to avoid getting someone pregnant.
• Wise Guys did not change boys’ intentions to have sex, nor did it change their relationship attitudes, goal-setting ability, or communication skills after two years.

To test the effectiveness of Wise Guys in Davenport middle schools, the study team used a random assignment evaluation design. Boys assigned to the treatment group could attend the Wise Guys sessions during the regular school day as an elective supplement to the regular school curriculum. Boys assigned to the control group could not attend Wise Guys but continued to receive the sexuality and reproductive health education provided as part of the regular school curriculum. The study team enrolled and randomly assigned a total of 736 boys over three consecutive school years, from 2013–2014 to 2015–2016. Boys in both research groups completed a baseline survey upon enrolling in the study and follow-up surveys one and two years later. Data from the two-year follow-up survey are the focus of this report.

Two earlier reports presented evidence on the implementation of the program and early impacts after one year:

Focusing on the Boys: Implementing Wise Guys in Davenport, Iowa

Focusing on the Boys: The Early Impacts of Wise Guys in Davenport, Iowa

Covington, Reginald D., Robert G. Wood, and Brian Goesling. (2019). Focusing on the Boys: The Longer-Term Impacts of Wise Guys in Davenport, Iowa. OPRE Report # 2019-97, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.