Fidelity, reach and acceptability of THINK AGAIN, a programme to prevent dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence among adolescents in the United Kingdom

Hearing, Fran, Hayes, Rachel, Berry, Vashti, Young, Honor ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0664-4002, Rigby, Emma, Emmerson, Lucy, Stubbs, Vicky, Melendez-Torres, G. J. and Bonell, Chris 2026. Fidelity, reach and acceptability of THINK AGAIN, a programme to prevent dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence among adolescents in the United Kingdom. Health Education Journal 10.1177/00178969261470550

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Abstract

Objective: Dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence are common among adolescents globally and can have significant adverse long-term consequences, including widening health inequalities. There is evidence that while school-based curriculum interventions can be effective in preventing dating and relationship violence, whole-school elements are important for preventing gender-based violence. However, implementing whole-school components may be challenging in schools with limited capacity. We designed THINK AGAIN, a multi-component programme aiming to prevent dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence in schools in England. The programme comprised an assessment and report of student needs, relationships and sex education curriculum, student-staff “Action Aware Group” and staff training. Design: We conducted a non-controlled feasibility study of THINK AGAIN. Setting: State secondary schools in south-east England. The programme targeted all students in year 9 (aged 13–14) in participating schools. Method: We recruited four schools in which to pilot and assess the feasibility and acceptability of THINK AGAIN in the 2024/2025 school year. Our embedded mixed-methods process evaluation assessed the fidelity, reach and acceptability of the intervention. Results: We found that the curriculum component was delivered with fidelity across schools. However, the whole-school component was delivered with fidelity in only two of four schools. Accordingly, acceptability and reach of the curriculum component were mostly higher among both students and staff than the Action Aware Group component. Conclusion: Fidelity, reach and acceptability of the curriculum were greater than the Action Aware Group, suggesting that progression of THINK AGAIN to a phase III trial of effectiveness requires important refinements to the whole-school component.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Schools > School of Social and Spatial Sciences Research Institutes & Centres > Centre For Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer)
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	0017-8969
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 August 2026
Last Modified:	19 Aug 2026 10:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189083

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