STAR LO embeds theatre performances within a classroom-based curriculum, using professional young adult actor/educators as teachers. It is designed to be delivered to early adolescents before they begin sexual experimentation, with the message that they have the ability to set their own limits within physical or romantic situations, choose to abstain from sexual activity, and communicate their sexual questions and concerns with parents and other adults.
The main goal of the STAR LO program is to affect antecedents of sexual activity (intention to have sex, attitudes to teen pregnancy, knowledge of sexual risks etc) among urban early adolescents.
STAR LO is designed for primary school students aged 10-12 years in early adolescence. STAR LO has only been evaluated in the USA. A quasi-experimental design study (Lieberman et. al, 2012) was conducted with 1143 participants.
Study participants were aged 10-12 years, and were 11 years old on average. Participants were mostly Latino (37%) and just over half of participants were female (53%)
STAR LO has not been evaluated in Australia or with Aboriginal Australians.
Overall, STAR LO had a mixed effect on client outcomes.
Promising research evidence:
STAR LO embeds theatre performances within a classroom-based curriculum using professional young adult actor/educators as teachers. The program is delivered across 8 sessions over 10 – 12 weeks in a school setting. Professional actor-educators portray characters, each with a personality, life circumstances, and choices that mirror those of young adolescents with respect to sexuality. The professional actor-educator adults remain in character after the performance and interact with the students, portraying peer role models.
The characters, using planned and rehearsed short theatre pieces or vignettes, focus on various topics including:
The costs for STAR LO were not reported in the study.
STAR LO actors receive intensive training in adolescent development, sexuality and classroom facilitation over a summer and at least 8 hours of training per week throughout the school year.
1 QED conducted in the USA with a sample of 1143 people (Lieberman et. al, 2012).
Lieberman, LD, Berlin, C, Palen, LA, & Ashley, OS 2012, ‘A theater-based approach to primary prevention of sexual behavior for early adolescents,’ The Journal of Early Adolescence, vol. 32, pp. 730-753, DOI 10.1177/0272431611424726.
09 Dec 2022
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.