中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effects of sexuality education programs for students and the impact of potential moderator factors. Methods: Relevant electronic databases, journals, documents, and reference lists were searched for eligible studies. We identified 97 studies on sexuality education programs with 432 independent effect sizes that were published in either Chinese or English from 1990 to 2012, comprising a total of 69,206 students in elementary school to college level. The Study Design and Implementation Assessment Device (Study DIAD) was used to address the quality of the studies. Weighted mean effect sizes were calculated based on the random-effects model. Additionally, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were performed to examine the moderating effects. Results: The results of this study revealed that the overall weighted mean effect size for the sexuality programs was 0.37 with a 95% CI 0.31~0.43. The weighted mean effect sizes for the cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes were 0.63, 0.32, and 0.21, respectively. Moreover, moderator analyses showed that the grade level, the publication language, the article type, the program type, and the instructor type significantly influenced the weighted mean effect sizes. Conclusions: Overall, the sexuality education programs for students were moderately effective. The effects of sexuality education programs differed in students' cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes and were influenced by several moderator factors.