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Copyright 2018 Marline E. Pearson
Introduction
T his adaptation of Love Notes builds skills and knowledge for healthy and successful
relationships for romance, friends, family, school, and work. Love Notes is an
innovative and strengths-based approach within a positive youth-development
framework that teaches youth about forming and maintaining healthy relationships.
This unique approach also empowers them to make healthy sexual choices that will
boost sexual delay and sexual risk avoidance. It is developed especially for teens and
young adults at risk for unstable and poor quality relationships, risky sexual behaviors,
unplanned pregnancies, and for those who are pregnant or already parenting. That said,
much of the content of Love Notes is relevant to any young person.
Love Notes builds assets and strengthens protective factors. It appeals to young people’s
aspirations, rather than merely emphasizing what they must avoid. Love Notes engages
young people in learning more about themselves and supports them in cultivating a
vision for their future. Love Notes empowers youth with the skills needed to further their
own personal development, to form and maintain healthy relationships, to make wise
sexual decisions, and build their skill capacity to follow through with their intentions.
It encourages them to set goals and to work towards success with education and
employment. These skills help youth reap the benefits associated with self-regulation.
All youth, regardless of sexual orientation, have attractions, emotions and desires for
healthy relationships. All youth benefit from sexual delay and sexual risk avoidance. All
youth need skills and knowledge to navigate their relationships and make wise sexual
choices. This is an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum.
Building Models and Confidence for Healthy Relationships
Many young people today lack models of healthy relationships. A recent Child Trends
survey of disadvantaged youth reported that while respondents could list general
qualities for healthy relationships, when asked if they saw many around them, they
said, “No.” More sadly, they said they had little confidence they would be able to
achieve a healthy relationship, despite their aspirations to develop one.1
Copyright 2018 Marline E. Pearson
Introduction
T his adaptation of Love Notes builds skills and knowledge for healthy and successful
relationships for romance, friends, family, school, and work. Love Notes is an
innovative and strengths-based approach within a positive youth-development
framework that teaches youth about forming and maintaining healthy relationships.
This unique approach also empowers them to make healthy sexual choices that will
boost sexual delay and sexual risk avoidance. It is developed especially for teens and
young adults at risk for unstable and poor quality relationships, risky sexual behaviors,
unplanned pregnancies, and for those who are pregnant or already parenting. That said,
much of the content of Love Notes is relevant to any young person.
Love Notes builds assets and strengthens protective factors. It appeals to young people’s
aspirations, rather than merely emphasizing what they must avoid. Love Notes engages
young people in learning more about themselves and supports them in cultivating a
vision for their future. Love Notes empowers youth with the skills needed to further their
own personal development, to form and maintain healthy relationships, to make wise
sexual decisions, and build their skill capacity to follow through with their intentions.
It encourages them to set goals and to work towards success with education and
employment. These skills help youth reap the benefits associated with self-regulation.
All youth, regardless of sexual orientation, have attractions, emotions and desires for
healthy relationships. All youth benefit from sexual delay and sexual risk avoidance. All
youth need skills and knowledge to navigate their relationships and make wise sexual
choices. This is an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum.
Building Models and Confidence for Healthy Relationships
Many young people today lack models of healthy relationships. A recent Child Trends
survey of disadvantaged youth reported that while respondents could list general
qualities for healthy relationships, when asked if they saw many around them, they
said, “No.” More sadly, they said they had little confidence they would be able to
achieve a healthy relationship, despite their aspirations to develop one.1
