Beginning in the mid-2000s, the federal government authorized funding to support healthy relationship education (HRE) for youth. These programs aim to improve young people’s relationship skills, knowledge, and behaviors and prepare them to build healthy romantic relationships in adulthood.

In 2020, the federal government awarded more than $24 million to 25 programs serving high-school-age youth and young adults.

In a project supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mathematica has summarized the existing research on the effectiveness of HRE programs for youth. The research team identified and reviewed 15 impact studies of HRE programs for youth and summarized the findings using an evidence and gaps map.

Join us as we discuss what we know and what we don’t know about the effectiveness of HRE programs for youth and promising future directions for continuing to build the evidence base for these programs.

Objectives: Participants will learn:

1. What an evidence and gaps map is and how it can be used to summarize what is and is not known about the evidence on a given topic.
2. What is known about the effectiveness of HRE programs for youth based on a review of 15 impact studies.
3. Promising future directions for continuing to build the evidence base for HRE programs for youth.

Presenter: Julia Alamillo, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Mathematica

Who should attend: Healthy Marriage and Relationship grantees, violence prevention and pregnancy prevention program managers, community-based organizations working with youth, federal, state, and local policy makers, and anyone interested in adolescent well-being.

Resources:

• October 2022 Webinar Slide Deck
• Project Brief and Interactive Knowledge Map