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Washington State Institute for Public Policy
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Teen Outreach Program (TOP)

Public Health & Prevention: Community-based
  Literature review updated February 2020.

The Teen Outreach Program (TOP) is a volunteer service and learning program for high school students. TOP aims to empower teens to develop social-emotional skills, healthy relationships, a sense of purpose, and ultimately, avoid risky behaviors. TOP targets high-risk adolescents and consists of supervised community volunteer experience (e.g., in nursing homes, senior centers, childcare centers) of between 20 to 40 hours per school year to increase students' social engagement with peers, teachers, and community adults. The volunteer service is coupled with classroom discussions of the volunteer experience and nine months of the TOP curriculum. TOP groups meet weekly throughout the school year to discuss communication skills, values, relationships, goal setting, decision-making, and adolescent health and sexual behavior with trained teachers/facilitators.

For this analysis, we exclude evaluations of TOP for youth in residential treatment centers.
 
ALL
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
ES SE Age ES p-value
Suspensions/expulsions
In-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, or expulsions from school
 15 2 438 -0.265 0.115 15 -0.565 0.001
Social and emotional development
A broad range of skills relevant to self, emotion, and relationships. These skills are typically measured through validated assessments that measure self-awareness, social competence, and self-control.
15 1 106 -0.146 0.136 15 -0.146 0.283
STD risky behavior
For youth, this outcome includes unprotected sex and other behaviors. For high-risk drug users, this also includes intravenous drug use.
15 1 3352 -0.098 1.034 15 -0.098 0.924
Teen pregnancy (under age 18)
Becoming pregnant (or getting someone else pregnant) before age 18.
15 3 3711 -0.174 0.081 15 -0.518 0.053

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Allen, J.P., Philliber, S., Herrling, S., & Kuperminc, G.P. (1997). Preventing teen pregnancy and academic failure: Experimental evaluation of a developmentally based approach. Child Development, 64(4), 729-742.

Philliber, S., & Allen, J.P. (1992). Life options and community service: Teen outreach program. In B. C. Miller, J. J. Card, R. L. Paikoff, & J. L. Peterson (Eds.), Preventing adolescent pregnancy: Model programs and evaluations (pp. 139-155). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.