SPARX Project – For positive romantic and intimate relationships

Initiated in 2019, the SPARX Project stems from the Youths’ Romantic Relationships (YRR) Survey. This project aims to implement best practices in terms of dating violence prevention and healthy romantic relationships promotion.

Our team is working with pivotal partners in order to develop a program that can simultaneously reach :

  • Teens (Secondary III and IV) through awareness activities;
  • School staff by offering them training and educational tools;
  • Parents and significant adults by providing them with informational online videos;
  • Peer helpers who act as program ambassadors within their school.

During the 2021-2022 school year, the program was evaluated in several schools in the greater Montreal area and Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean. This experimental evaluation made it possible to improve the program and to document its impact on all of the targeted stakeholders.

Training course has also been created to enable professionals working with youths to offer the SPARX program, and in particular the workshops aimed at secondary 3 and 4 students, in their workplace. For more information, or to be informed of upcoming training dates, please contact us at the following address: etincelles-sparx@uqam.ca

Dissemination tools

Results of the needs assessments

These fact sheets summarize the key results of the needs assessments for each of the project components (youth, school staff, parents/caregivers and youth ambassadors). These assessments allowed to better understand the reality and needs of the target populations in order to design tools that are adapted to them.

Results of the pilot evaluation

These fact sheets summarize the key results of the pilot studies targeting parents/caregivers and school staff.

Site web

https://etincelles.uqam.ca/en/

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Funding

For information

Pénélope Allard-Cobetto, M.A.
Project coordinator, UQAM
etincelles-sparx@uqam.ca

Team members

Principal investigator

Martine Hébert, Ph.D.
Full Professor, UQAM
hebert.m@uqam.ca

Co-researchers

Mylène Fernet, Ph.D.
Full Professor, UQAM
fernet.mylene@uqam.ca

Martin Blais, Ph.D.
Full Professor, UQAM
blais.martin@uqam.ca

Alison Paradis, Ph.D.
Professor, UQAM
paradis.alison@uqam.ca

Jacinthe Dion, Ph.D.
Full Professor, UQAC
dion.jacinthe@uqac.ca

Cat Tuong Nguyen, M.D., Ph.D.
Responsable médicale-Service Développement des jeunes
Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal
cat.tuong.nguyen.ccsmtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

Partners

Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal
Tel-Jeunes
Direction de santé publique de la Montérégie