Youth project may have increased teenage pregnancies

The Young People's Development Programme (YPDP), set up in 2004, involved 27 pilot projects in different locations in England and ran until March 2007.

Its aim was to address risk behaviour in relation to teenage pregnancy, substance misuse and educational attainment through a long-term programme for young people aged 13 to 15.

However, research commissioned by the Department of Health and carried out by researchers at the Institute of Education, University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has cast doubt on its effectiveness.

The study, published today on www.bmj.com, found there were significantly more pregnancies among young women in the YPDP group than in a comparison group (16 per cent compared with 6 per cent).

Young women in the YPDP group more commonly reported early heterosexual experience (58 per cent versus 33 per cent) and expectation of teenage parenthood (34 per cent versus 24 per cent).

Douglas Kirby, a US-based senior research scientist involved in analysing the findings, said the results suggest that at best the programme had no impact, and at worst it had a negative impact.

"This does not mean that all youth development approaches are ineffective," he said. "For example, programmes may be more effective when implemented by charismatic staff, when they facilitate access to reproductive health services, when the staff connect with the teenage participants, or when the staff give a strong clear message about avoiding unprotected sex."

Richard McKie, national programme manager for health at The National Youth Agency, which co-ordinated the programme, said there were many positives to be taken from the programme.

"There were reductions in temporary school exclusions, contacts with the police were reduced and young people's responses were very positive," he said.