Bell Ringer Open your student workbook and turn to page 77. Under the heading Journal Entry, write a few sentences that describe a time you had to make a decision that was important to you. Write about what you needed to decide, the steps you followed to make your decision, and what the results were.

Unit 3: Abstinence, Personal & Sexual Health Lesson 13 –Making Decisions to Support Abstinence

Healthy Behavior Outcomes Be sexually abstinent. Engage in behaviors that prevent or reduce sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV infection.

Lesson Objectives By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: Use decision-making skills to set personal limits regarding sexual behaviors. Examine barriers to making decisions about sexual limits or being sexually abstinent.

Decision Making Making a good decision takes thought and planning. Today you are going to learn steps that will help you make good decisions in general. Applying these steps for decision making to situations that could challenge a choice to be abstinent.

Situation: Casey wants to stay abstinent at least until they graduate from high school. Someone Casey really likes but doesn’t know very well yet has invited Casey to go to a party on Saturday night. Casey has heard that there may be alcohol at the party and that the parents of the teen who’s hosting it might be out of town. What should Casey do?

Write your answers to each question under the decision making steps in your notes 1. Does a decision need to be made? - Yes. Casey needs to decide about going to the party. 2. Stop and think. What information could help them make a health decision? - Will there be alcohol at the party? Will there be adults there to supervise the party? How will Casey get there and get home? Does Casey’s date know about and support Casey’s abstinence choice?

Write your answers to each question under the decision making steps in your notes 3. Does Casey need help with the decision? Who can help? - Casey could make the decision alone, but might want to talk to parents, trusted adults, or a friend who is abstinent to get advice. 4. What choices does Casey have? - Say no to the date. Suggest another activity that won’t put the choice to be abstinent at risk. Go to the party. Go, but leave right away if there’s alcohol or the parent’s aren’t there.

Write your answers to each question under the decision making steps in your notes 5. What are the possible outcomes for each of these choices? - Say no: + Casey avoids risky situation. - The person might not ask Casey out again. - Suggest another activity: + Casey and the date might enjoy that activity more than the party. - Casey’s date might not want to do something else.

Write your answers to each question under the decision making steps in your notes 5. What are the possible outcomes for each of these choices? - Go to the party: + Casey will get to practice sticking to their limits. - Casey might not be able to stick to their limits. - Go to the party but leave right away if there’s alcohol or no parent’s are there: + Casey’s date might respect Casey for that decision. - Peers might tease Casey about leaving early.

Write your answers to each question under the decision making steps in your notes 6. What’s the healthy and safe choice for Casey and why? - If Casey wants to go on a date with this person, the best choice is to suggest another activity that will help them both be abstinent. 7. How could Casey evaluate the results of the decision? - Casey would be happy with the decision if they got to go out with the person without putting the abstinence choice at risk.

Decision Scenario Turn in your student workbook to pages 38 and 39. Now you will work with a partner to go through the decision-making steps for another sample situation that you help create yourselves.

Write under “Class discussion notes” page 78 What are some other situations in which teens might need to make a decision related to abstinence or sexual activity?

Summary Situations related to abstinence or sexual activity in which a decision may need to be made include: Deciding what to do on a date Deciding how to express your feelings of sexual attraction for someone Deciding what your sexual limits should be Deciding how to communicate your limits if you are being pressured about sex

Write under “Class Discussion Notes” page 78 Imagine you have to make a decision about staying abstinent. Which decision-making step would be most important to you, or most difficult, when making the decision and why?