Enhancing Media Literacy and Preventive Behaviors Through Active Learning: Effects on Violence and Sexual Risk Among Thai Adolescents

Thai adolescents are increasingly exposed to violent and sexual content in digital media, which may shape attitudes and increase risk behaviors. This experimental study evaluated whether an active learning-based media literacy program could improve media literacy skills, violence avoidance skills, and sexual risk prevention skills among Thai adolescents. A two-group pretest-posttest design was used with 114 students aged 14-16 years in Chonburi Province, Thailand, who were assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group received five 50-minute active learning sessions over five weeks, while the control group received lecture-based instruction. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire and analyzed with paired-samples and independent-samples t-tests. At baseline, the two groups did not differ significantly in media literacy skills, violence avoidance skills, or sexual risk prevention skills. After the intervention, the experimental group had significantly higher mean scores than the control group for media literacy skills (3.97 ± 0.52 vs. 3.10 ± 0.78, p < 0.001), violence avoidance skills (3.48 ± 0.70 vs. 3.11 ± 0.51, p = 0.002), and sexual risk prevention skills (3.78 ± 0.46 vs. 2.90 ± 0.65, p < 0.001). These findings indicate that active learning can effectively strengthen media literacy and support protective behaviors related to violence and sexual risk among adolescents. The program may be suitable for integration into school-based health education to promote responsible media use and adolescent risk prevention.