Make a Move+: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Program Targeting Psychosexual Health and Sexual and Dating Violence for Dutch Male Youth with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

Whereas male youth with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) display similar sexual development as their peers without MID, they experience higher rates of sexual and dating violence (SDV) and sexual risk behavior. Yet, little is known about effective gender-specific prevention for this population. Therefore, we conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a Dutch group-counseling program promoting psychosexual health and preventing SDV among male youth with MID aged 14 – 21 years: Make a Move+. The 120 participating male youth completed three questionnaires (baseline, post-test, 3-month follow-up; 77.5% retention). A subsample of 14 male youth and five trainers were interviewed pre- and post-program. With these multi-method, multi-informant data, we evaluated program effectiveness on the six intended outcomes (attitudes (primary outcome), global self-esteem, skills, knowledge, SDV use and victimization, and sexual risk behavior) by 1) statistically comparing self-reports between the intervention and control groups; 2) thematically analyzing interview data. We found limitations in program integrity, and mixed evidence for program effectiveness on attitudes, knowledge, skills, SDV use and sexual risk behavior, and no evidence for effectiveness on global self-esteem or SDV victimization. We also found indications of adverse effects on SDV use and victimization. We offer suggestions for program refinement and future program evaluations.