Teenager pregnancy remains one of the focus area that need to be dealt with even in developed country (Hoyt & Broom, 2002). One of the method include Infant Simulator Programmes (ISP). ISP is the area of research that shows mixed result in the effectiveness of achieve its purpose of reducing teen’s pregnancy rate. As by theory, it is school-based practise that contain caring for doll baby that is computerised. Student need to try to stop the simulator from crying by give them the right treatment (Hoyt & Broom, 2002). This will provide high school students realistic experience of been a teen parents and teaching them about the responsibility and difficulty of parenting thus reduce pregnancy rate among teenager. However, the effectiveness of this programme is questioned, especially when research show that no significant difference in students attitude and most importantly Brinkman’s et al. (2016) research show the increase in pregnancy rate of student in receive ISP.
Mixed results were showed in early research. Somers and Fahlman (2001) access the changing attitude in teen’s pregnancy and childbearing among 213 white and middle class students. They found that majority of the students from experimental group reported the program influenced them to be more aware and avoid become teen parents. Same result showed in open-end questions where the answers commonly reflects to the time and responsibilities devote to babysitting. However, the accuracy of the result was questioned according to the possibility of socially desirable responding (Somers & Fahlman, 2001). Also, in Somers & Fahlman’s (2001, cited in Barnett & Hurst, 2004) research, no significant differences recorded between control and experimental group in changing attitude indicated that ISP are not more beneficial than the traditional stander health education in preventing teen’s pregnancy. Different result showed in other research where Kralewski & Stevens-Simon (2000) compared 6th grade and 8th grade’s responds to ISP, this resulted in increased numbers of students wanted to teen patents from 12% to 15%. Hoyt & Broom (2000, p.15) concluded that these mixed results is due to “infrequent, sample sizes are small, and few have used random assignment”.
Kralewki and Stevens-Simon’s (2000) shocking result analysed by Hoyt & Broom (2002) which was due to lack parallel education delivered with the ISP. This supported Card’s (1999, cited in Hoyt & Broom, 2002) view about the important of the research guide, followed and conduct by theory. Regarding this the risk of not achieve the education associate with ISP not only failed to prevent teen pregnancy but stimulate students’ willingness to become pregnant.
In addition, Kralewki and Stevens-Simon (2000) also suggest that the age of the participant influence on the effectiveness of the ISP. 6th grades students were most likely find the caring for a real infant will be easier than simulator, as 6th grades in general found the task harder to handle than 8th grade (Kralewki &Stevens-Simon). Added by Barnett and Hurst (2004), that it can be too late for senior student to participate in ISP since they are less likely to change their behaviours when they started to have sexual intercourse and thus result in greater chance to get pregnant. The conditional applies on participants’ age explain why different result be published.
To addressing the limitation on previous research de Anda (2006) conducted the research conclude have positive outcome of ISP. Which sampled 353 students, both male and female participants, as a compulsory class component which is thoroughly taught relevant knowledge and then experiences simulator. The results that majority of the students acknowledge caring baby is time consuming and not easy and they are not capable to handle such things (de Anda, 2006). They also suggest that become teen parent impact on their education, social life, family member and their own mental stability (de Anda, 2006). According to this there were significant decrease from 67% to 32.3 % in the students want to have child before 24(de Anda, 2006). By theory the negative attitude to teenage parenthood will significant reduce the teenage pregnancy rate, according to Bandura, that the possibility for things to reoccur is depends on the impact of the consequences (1995, cited in de Anda, 2006). However, the latter research tent to overturn Bandura’s word, to prove that the negative consequences of ISP didn’t have impact on long tern action on teenager.
Brinkman et al.’s (2016) research shows that the in long-term effect on people participated in ISP is that they are more likely to become pregnant than student only took normal sex education. This research overcome all the limitation the previous research had. This include base on real pregnancy rate (Brinkman et al., 2016) rather than based on self-reported system where the answer could possibly be distorted especially question related to sexual intercourse (Barnett & Hurst). They did this through WADLS which provide data link to medical record and abortion clinic until the participants turn 20 years old. This research contains 1267 girls in intervention group (28 schools) and 1567 girls (29 schools) in control group which were between 13-15 years old and were all randomly assigned in to two groups. Where intervention group participants received The Virtual Infant Parenting (VIP) Programme which is pregnancy prevention program that include caring for an infant simulator, while the control group receive a normal health education. The data shows that in general the pregnancy rate in intervention group, 17%, were higher than control group, 11% (Brinkman et al., 2016). Also, higher birth rate compare to control group, 8% and 4%. This study show that ISP is not effective in prevent and reducing teen pregnancy. However, the limitation of this research need to be awarded, include that although girls are randomly assigned to both group that control group turns out to have batter socioeconomic status (Brinkman et al., 2016). This may influence the outcome. Nevertheless, due to the nature of the study which examined long-term effect, the authors recognised it is the most rigorous study so far (Brinkman et al., 2016).
Kralewski and Stevens-Simon (2000) suggest that knowing something doesn’t mean it will reflected on individual’s behaviours. In study conducted by Divine and Cobbs (2001, cited in Barnett & Hurst, 2004) student acknowledge that they learn the enormous responsibility band by parenthood but no significant change in sexual intercourse. This can also can apply to de Anda’s (2006) research where the self-reported learning outcome can be questioned in carried out in future. Therefore, the compare to the measurement of pregnancy rate from Brinkman’s (2016) study, result from de Anda (2006) are less accurate due to the nature of self-reported feature of the research.
The ISP which aim to provide real parenting experience to teenager at school and thus change attitude and reduce the teen pregnancy rate. Although research on the effectiveness of the ISP stay inconclusive due to the small sample size, selective bias, short term examination only, failed to follow the theory and self-reported feature of most of the studies. However, Brinkman el al.’s (2016) research overcome all the limitations of previous studies and concluded that the ISP not only failed to reduce teen pregnancy but even increase the pregnancy rate among teenager.
References:
Barnett, J. E., & Hurst, C. S. (2004). Do adolescents take” baby think it over” seriously?. Adolescence, 39(153), 65.
Brinkman, S. A., Johnson, S. E., Codde, J. P., Hart, M. B., Straton, J. A., Mittinty, M. N., & Silburn, S. R. (2016). Efficacy of infant simulator programmes to prevent teenage pregnancy: a school-based cluster randomised controlled trial in Western Australia. The Lancet, 388(10057), 2264-2271.
de Anda, D. (2006). Baby think it over: Evaluation of an infant simulation intervention for adolescent pregnancy prevention. Health & social work, 31(1), 26-35.
Hoyt, H. H., & Broom, B. L. (2002). School-based teen pregnancy prevention programs: A review of the literature. The Journal of School Nursing, 18(1), 11-17.
Kralewski, J., & Stevens-Simon, C. (2000). Does mothering a doll change teens’ thoughts about pregnancy?. Pediatrics, 105(3), e30-e30.
Somers, C. L., & Fahlman, M. M. (2001). Effectiveness of the “Baby Think It Over” teen. pregnancy prevention program. Journal of School Health, 71(5), 188-195.