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This is a very confusing result. I could understand no effect, but an effect in the wrong direction?

lbrito 3y ago
Yes. >The infant simulator-based VIP programme did not achieve its aim of reducing teenage pregnancy. Girls in the intervention group were more likely to experience a birth or an induced abortion than those in the control group before they reached 20 years of age.
bee_rider 3y ago
Is it really confusing? When I was growing up, people got really excited about how well they’d done taking care of their… what was it, I think it was an egg? Anyway, the lesson that a bunch of them got was, I think, “wow that was easy and fun, I guess I would be a great parent.”
anon291 3y ago
one of the problems with the sort of well-off person who staffs health departments who conduct these kinds of studies is that, in my experience, they are completely insulated from the kinds of environments in which these social ills occur. In their mind, teenage pregnancy is unthinkable and their interactions with children make them want less (this is a common sentiment I hear on reddit, for example). However, not everyone thinks that way. And realistically, this unfortunate gulf that has emerged between the scientific class and those they are attempting to help is the root of many terrible policy decisions. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/planned-teenage-pregnancy-views-and-experiences-young-people-poor-and-disadvantaged https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/planned-teenage-pregnancy-view... From the article: > Many mothers spoke of their love of babies, often heightened by experience caring for other children."
troupe 3y ago
There is a lot of power in suggestion. If you get a bunch of high school students together and really start talking to them about suicide, how they shouldn't commit suicide, how to identify suicidal thoughts, etc. would it be surprising to have a higher risk of suicide in that group than a control group. I'd assume something like having a baby would have an even stronger tendency to do that.
humanistbot 3y ago
My interpretation is that it gives a false sense of how difficult it actually is to raise a baby. First, they only had the students care for the simulated baby for five days, and 'childcare' was provided for free during their school day (they had to turn it off during the school day). Five days is not long enough for the novelty to wear off and the day-to-day reality to kick in. Second, the dolls are not a good simulation of what it is actually like to care for a baby. It's a step up from a tamagotchi. Changing a diaper on a real baby is nothing like changing a diaper on one of these dolls. Real babies scream and cry much louder, and often don't stop even if you do everything right.

Yes. >The infant simulator-based VIP programme did not achieve its aim of reducing teenage pregnancy. Girls in the intervention group were more likely to experience a birth or an induced abortion than those in the control group before they reached 20 years of age.

bee_rider 3y ago

Is it really confusing? When I was growing up, people got really excited about how well they’d done taking care of their… what was it, I think it was an egg? Anyway, the lesson that a bunch of them got was, I think, “wow that was easy and fun, I guess I would be a great parent.”

anon291 3y ago

one of the problems with the sort of well-off person who staffs health departments who conduct these kinds of studies is that, in my experience, they are completely insulated from the kinds of environments in which these social ills occur. In their mind, teenage pregnancy is unthinkable and their interactions with children make them want less (this is a common sentiment I hear on reddit, for example). However, not everyone thinks that way. And realistically, this unfortunate gulf that has emerged between the scientific class and those they are attempting to help is the root of many terrible policy decisions. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/planned-teenage-pregnancy-views-and-experiences-young-people-poor-and-disadvantaged https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/planned-teenage-pregnancy-view... From the article: > Many mothers spoke of their love of babies, often heightened by experience caring for other children."

troupe 3y ago

There is a lot of power in suggestion. If you get a bunch of high school students together and really start talking to them about suicide, how they shouldn't commit suicide, how to identify suicidal thoughts, etc. would it be surprising to have a higher risk of suicide in that group than a control group. I'd assume something like having a baby would have an even stronger tendency to do that.

humanistbot 3y ago

My interpretation is that it gives a false sense of how difficult it actually is to raise a baby. First, they only had the students care for the simulated baby for five days, and 'childcare' was provided for free during their school day (they had to turn it off during the school day). Five days is not long enough for the novelty to wear off and the day-to-day reality to kick in. Second, the dolls are not a good simulation of what it is actually like to care for a baby. It's a step up from a tamagotchi. Changing a diaper on a real baby is nothing like changing a diaper on one of these dolls. Real babies scream and cry much louder, and often don't stop even if you do everything right.