2004-2005 National First Place Winners
Studying condom education and the link between sleep deprivation and obesity earn two students $50,000 scholarships.
First Place Winners
$50,000 Scholarship
Jessica Cohen
Roslyn High School
Roslyn Heights, NY
The Impact of Condom Education on High School Students
"I have long been aware of the politics surrounding sexual health education. My high school was the first on Long Island to adopt a condom availability policy in 1995. I sought to bridge my interest in public policy and health education with this project."
Jessica Cohen compared condom education approaches in her Long Island high school. While her study showed that the approaches increased students' perceptions of condom effectiveness and their ability to use condoms, the methods did not increase students' acceptance of sex among teenagers.
Cohen examined 87 high school sophomores who were enrolled in a mandatory health education course. The students were randomly assigned to receive one of three types of condom education lessons: a verbal explanation by the teacher, a verbal explanation during which a teacher put a condom over a finger, or verbal explanation during which students put condoms over one of their own fingers.
Before and after the lessons, Cohen surveyed the students' perceptions of condom effectiveness and their ability to use them, as well as their intent to use condoms and the acceptability of engaging in sex while in high school.
Jessica volunteers at the Long Island Crisis Center and is a summer research assistant at the Columbia University School of Public Health (HIV Center). She plans to study psychology and social policy at Columbia University.
Andreea Seicean
Bay High School
Bay Village, OH
A Significant Association Between Short Sleeping Hours and Teens Overweight/Obesity: Results from Bay High School
"I was interested in how sleep behaviors may modify general health after observing family members and friends. They were sleeping fewer hours over different periods of time and their weight fluctuations were manifest."
Andreea Seicean studied the link between sleep deprivation and the increased likelihood of obesity in high school students. She found that students sleeping eight hours or more had the lowest risk of being obese or overweight, while those who slept under five hours a night had the highest risk.
Compared to students that sleep more than 8 hours, those that sleep less than 5 hours were nearly 5 times more likely to be obese or overweight and students that sleep 5-6 hours were nearly 2 times more likely to be obese or overweight.
Andreea serves as captain of her high school's model United Nations and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is also president of the Science Club and teaches piano at a nursing home. She plans to study psychology (pre-med) at Case Western Reserve University.