Report: Abstinence programs don't work

[NeTrips]

Fact: Sexually active teens are more likely to be depressed and to attempt suicide.
Sexually active teens are less likely to be happy, more likely to be depressed, and more likely to attempt suicide. Teenage girls who are sexually active are three times more likely to be depressed and three times more likely to attempt suicide than girls who are not active. Teenage boys who are sexually active are more than twice as likely to be depressed and are almost ten times more likely to attempt suicide than boys who are not active.

Robert E. Rector, Kirk A. Johnson, and Lauren R. Noyes, “Sexually Active Teenagers Are More Likely to be Depressed and to Attempt Suicide,” The Heritage Foundation, Center for Data Analysis ReportNo. 03-04, June 3, 2003.

 

[NeTrips]

Fact: Abstinence education programs are effective in reducing teen sexual activity.
There are currently ten evaluations showing that abstinence education is effective in reducing teen sexual activity. Half of these evaluations have been published in peer-reviewed journals. For example, “Not Me, Not Now” is a community-wide abstinence program in Monroe County, New York. The program broadcasts pro-abstinence messages to teens through the mass media. The program has been successful in changing teen attitudes. The sexual activity rate of 15-year-olds across the county (as reported on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey) dropped 46.6 percent to 31.6 percent. The pregnancy rate for girls aged 15 through 17 in the county fell by a statistically significant amount from 63.4 pregnancies per 1000 girls to 49.5 pregnancies per 1000.. The teen pregnancy rate fell more rapidly in Monroe County than in comparison counties and in upstate New York in general, and the difference in the rate of decrease was statistically significant.

Robert Rector, “The Effectiveness of Abstinence Education Programs in Reducing Sexual Activity Among Youth.” The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1533, April 8, 2002. www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/bg1533.html

 

[NeTrips]

...

Not surprisingly the program’s message has resonated with girls, and research released in April 2005 by Adolescent and Family Health shows that girls in Best Friends are 6 1/2 times less likely to have sex, about two times less likely to drink alcohol, and eight times less likely to use drugs when compared to their peers.

Results for Diamond Girls are even more compelling: Most notably, they are almost 120 times less likely to engage in sexual activity and 26 times less likely to use drugs.

“Best Friends is long-term and intense,” said Roberta Freer, Best Friends development director. “All of the components of Best Friends are so important, and it is the multi-faceted nature of the program that makes it so successful. We treat the whole child.”

Best Friends’ success has garnered attention and accolades for its successful abstinence initiatives. It was named one of the country’s most effective programs by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy in a 1997 White House Ceremony and has received several other prestigious awards for its emphasis on character education. Recently, the program applied for and received a highly competitive federal grant.

The success of the program is spilling over to homes and classrooms. “The vast majority of parents, mentors, principals and teachers have noticed a positive difference in girls who are members of Best Friends,” Bennett said. “Academic achievement has risen, and often the girls of Best Friends become leaders and set a positive example for other girls in their classes.”
Crouse concluded, “The effectiveness of programs like Best Friends drives another nail in the coffin of comprehensive sex education. The ‘let’s-show-kids-how-to-have-safe-sex’ approach has undermined the physical and emotional health of America’s young people. When girls receive proper guidance, affirmation and encouragement, they will exhibit the self-respect and self-confidence to reject unhealthy behavior and set higher standards for themselves.”

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/8768/BLI/education/index.htm

 

[Peach81]

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/weyrich/050215

That was a biased commentary. I posted a report from a news site.

And renewamerica.us was founded by Alan Keyes, a devout Catholic politician who disowned his gay daughter, and said that Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama.

 

[Peach81]

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/8768/BLI/education/index.htm

Another biased commentary.

CWfA website:

"CWA is built on prayer and action.

We are the nation's largest public policy women's organization with a rich 28-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy.

What We Do

We help people focus on six core issues, which we have determined need Biblical principles most and where we can have the greatest impact. At its root, each of these issues is a battle over worldviews."

 

[Brennin]

That was a biased commentary. I posted a report from a news site.

And renewamerica.us was founded by Alan Keyes, a devout Catholic politician who disowned his gay daughter, and said that Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama.

This is not good enough. You need to demonstrate where they are in error.

 

[NeTrips]

That was a biased commentary. I posted a report from a news site.

Another biased commentary.

Regardless of where you linked the report from, it's authors are clearly biased. So your biased report is better than the linked reports how?

 

[Ramona]

Are there any sources on any controversial subject that are 100% unbiased, though?

 

[NeTrips]

Are there any sources on any controversial subject that are 100% unbiased, though?

Honestly, very few and far between. Reports from scientists are most likely to be unbiased but even there, you need to look and see who's paying for the study and also look to see if the scientists benefit from the results in some way.

That's my problem with the article in the OP. The folks who did the study have a vested interest in the results.

 

[mhager]

Honestly, very few and far between. Reports from scientists are most likely to be unbiased but even there, you need to look and see who's paying for the study and also look to see if the scientists benefit from the results in some way.

That's my problem with the article in the OP. The folks who did the study have a vested interest in the results.

I note with a disticnt lack of surprise, NeTrips, that you have failed to address the reports I posted. Need I do so again? The fact is that most people would agree that a reduction in risky sexual behavior among younger people is a good thing. The last several posts you have made have needlessly repeated that point and while I think your sources weak, I accept the assertion. We need to achieve less risky sexual behavior.

Now, the question becomes, how do we do that? I am not sure, but I do know this: abstinence only education does not work. I provided ample evidence and you (or anyone else) have not even attempted to address it in any way.

So, I ask yet again, do you have any response to the studies I gave as examples. Is the federal government, the executive branch of which supports abstinence-only, a suspect source? I think not, yet it was also concluded there that the abstinence approach does not work.

You may claim as much as you wish that you are not responding to or engaging me because it is not appropriate here, but I think you, I, and everyone else know better. I think you have no valid response and I think you are as aware of that as the rest of us.

I could, of course, be wrong. Why don't you try and show that, if that is what you think?

 

[Peach81]

Honestly, very few and far between. Reports from scientists are most likely to be unbiased but even there, you need to look and see who's paying for the study and also look to see if the scientists benefit from the results in some way.

I agree. And while I have yet to find any studies done by actual scientists, and the fact that I don't care what politicians think, I guess I'm just gonna have to settle for doctors' recommendations instead:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8470845/

A leading group of pediatricians says teenagers need access to birth control and emergency contraception, not the abstinence-only approach to sex education favored by religious groups and President Bush.

The recommendations are part of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ updated teen pregnancy policy. “Even though there is great enthusiasm in some circles for abstinence-only interventions, the evidence does not support abstinence-only interventions as the best way to keep young people from unintended pregnancy,” said Dr. Jonathan Klein, chairman of the academy committee that wrote the new recommendations.ad_dap('250','300','&PG=NBCHC4&AP=1089');

Teaching abstinence but not birth control makes it more likely that once teenagers initiate sexual activity they will have unsafe sex and contract sexually transmitted diseases, said Dr. S. Paige Hertweck, a pediatric obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Louisville who provided advice for the report.

 

[NeTrips]

I agree. And while I have yet to find any studies done by actual scientists, and the fact that I don't care what politicians think, I guess I'm just gonna have to settle for doctors' recommendations instead:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8470845/

sounds fair. take a look at this one and let me know what you think. The authors meet your criteria:

Kate Hendricks, MD, MPH&TM
Patricia Thickstun, PhD
Anjum Khurshid, MBBS, MPAff
Sheetal Malhotra, MBBS, MS

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Harold Thiele, PhD

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http://www.medinstitute.org/includes/downloads/antellirevised.pdf

here's their conclusion:

Over the last few years, abstinence education programs have been unfairly attacked from many
quarters. While such attacks are to be expected from advocacy groups who oppose abstinence
education, it is unusual for a peer-reviewed journal to publish a review article based on absent or
unconvincing evidence. The Santelli et al review article is replete with serious omissions,
misrepresentations, deviations from accepted practices, and opinions represented as fact.
Research on brain development​

117 demonstrates that it is important for adults who provide
guidance to adolescents to give them more than just information -- they need direction. Most
international HIV/AIDS experts agree that abstinence is the best choice for youth.118 Abstinence
education is based on the public health principle of primary prevention – risk avoidance rather than
risk reduction. Adolescents need to be given accurate information about STI and pregnancy risks
associated with sexual activity. Both adults and adolescents need to know that although risk
reduction strategies (ie, condoms and contraceptives) may partially reduce the burden of adverse
outcomes in a population, they leave individuals at significant risk. In contrast, abstinence education
teaches risk avoidance strategies that help adolescents to each achieve their human right to the
“highest attainable standard of health.”119​

As summarized in Table 2, school-based sex education programs have yet to be proven effective in
reducing STI or pregnancy rates. In contrast, evaluations of community-based abstinence programs
published in peer-reviewed journals​

120,121 have demonstrated effectiveness in significantly reducing
pregnancy rates. Therefore, federal policies that promote community-based abstinence strategies for
adolescent pregnancy and STI prevention are supported by scientific evidence. Adolescents need to
receive a clear abstinence message from all sectors of society – from the media, from schools, from
the faith community, from their peers, and most importantly, from their parents and other trusted​

adults. Anything less is neither moral nor ethical.

 

[Peach81]

sounds fair. take a look at this one and let me know what you think. The authors meet your criteria:


http://www.medinstitute.org/includes/downloads/antellirevised.pdf

here's their conclusion:

A very interesting report indeed. I honestly couldn't find anything worth refuting...

but then I took a look at the references listed and became very confused.

1 ​

​

Sterk CE, Theall KP, Elifson KW. Effectiveness of a risk reduction intervention among African American women who use crack cocaine. AIDS Educ Prev. 2003;15(1):15-32.

2 Rosser BR, Bockting WO, Rugg DL, e tal. A randomized controlled intervention trial of a sexual health approach
to long-term HIV risk reduction for men who have sex with men: effects of the intervention on unsafe sexual behavior. AIDS Educ Prev. 2002;14(3 Suppl A):59-71.

3 Semple SJ, Patterson TL, Grant I. The sexual negotiation behavior of HIV-positive gay and bisexual men. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2000;68(5):934-7.

4 Stone E, Heagerty P, Vittinghoff E, et al.Correlates of condom failure in a sexually active cohort of men who have sex with men. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1999;20(5):495-501.

5 Gibson S, McFarland W, Wohlfeiler D, Scheer K, Katz MH. Experiences of 100 men who have sex with men using the Reality condom for anal sex. AIDS Educ Prev. 1999 ;11(1):65-71.

6 Gross M, Buchbinder SP, Celum C, Heagerty P, Seage GR 3rd, for the HIVNET Vaccine Preparedness Study
Protocol Team.. Rectal microbicides for U.S. gay men. Are clinical trials needed? Are they feasible? Sex Transm Dis. 1998;25(6):296-302.

7 de Graaf R, van Zessen G, Vanwesenbeeck I, Straver CJ, Visser JH. Condom use by Dutch men with commercial heterosexual contacts: determinants and considerations. AIDS Educ Prev. 1997;9(5):411-23.

8 Ploem C, Byers ES. The effects of two AIDS risk-reduction interventions on heterosexual college women's AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes and condom use. J Psychol Human Sex. 1997;9(1):1-24.

9 Bolus J. Teaching teens about condoms. RN. 1994;57(3):44-7.

10 Magura S, Shapiro JL, Kang SY. Condom use among criminally-involved adolescents. AIDS Care.
1994;6(5):595-603.

11 Dubois-Arber F, Masur JB, Hausser D, Zimmermann E, Paccaud F. Evaluation of AIDS prevention among
homosexual and bisexual men in Switzerland. Soc Sci Med. 1993;37(12):1539-44.

12 Giving people more choices. Safer sex and condoms. AIDS Action. 1993;(22):4-5.

13 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Update: barrier protection against HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1993;42(30):589-91, 597.

14 Peterson JL, Coates TJ, Catania JA, Middleton L, Hilliard B, Hearst N. High-risk sexual behavior and condom use among gay and bisexual African-American men. Am J Public Health. 1992;82(11):1490-4.​

​

15 Myers T, Tudiver FG, Kurtz RG, et al. The Talking Sex Project: descriptions of the study population and
correlates of sexual practices at baseline. Can J Public Health. 1992 ;83(1):47-52.

16 Sugerman ST, Hergenroeder AC, Chacko MR, Parcel GS. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and adolescents. Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of runaway and homeless youths. Am J Dis Child. 1991;145(4):431-6.

17 Vittinghoff E., Douglas J, Judson F, McKirnan D, MacQueen K, Buchbinder SP. Per-contact risk of human immunodeficiency virus transmission between male sexual partners. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;150(3):306-11.

18 Kaljee LM, Genberg B, Riel R, et al. Effectiveness of a theory-based risk reduction HIV prevention program for
rural Vietnamese adolescents. AIDS Educ Prev. 2005;17(3):185-99.​

Most of these references' titles don't seem to have much to do with the topic at hand, which leads me to wonder where these doctors had to look to get evidence for their claims.​

 

[SaintInChicago]

That would be a useful post if you could provide some studies by ANYONE showing that abstinence-only education works.

You can't.

You lose.

I never said it does. Just pointing out the huge flaw in this study that says it does not.

PWNED

 

[SaintInChicago]

BTW, this just in:
Illegal immigration a win for the USA, National Council for The Race(La Raza) studies find.

 

[NeTrips]

A very interesting report indeed. I honestly couldn't find anything worth refuting...

but then I took a look at the references listed and became very confused.


Most of these references' titles don't seem to have much to do with the topic at hand, which leads me to wonder where these doctors had to look to get evidence for their claims.[/left]

If that's the last page, those are the refences for the apendix. The report refences begin on the articles page #18 and run through the articles page # 22 (not the adobe page #'s). The refences for the article include over 120 entries.

Here are the first page:

1​

​

Santelli J, Ott MA, Lyon M, Rogers J, Summers D, Schleifer R. Abstinence and abstinence-only education: a
review of U.S. policies and programs. J Adolesc Health. 2006;38(1):72-81.​

2​

​

Santelli J, Ott MA, Lyon M, Rogers J, Summers D. Abstinence-only education policies and programs: a position
paper of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. J Adolesc Health. 2006;38(1):83-7.​

3​

​

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary. 2nd ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983​

4​

​

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS and human rights international guidelines. Second international consultation on HIV/AIDS
and human rights, Geneva, September 23–25, 1996. New York, Geneva: United Nations, 1998. U.N.Doc.
HR/PUB/98/1, paras. 38(g), 38(h). Available at: http://data.unaids.org/publications/irc-pub02/jc520-
humanrights_en.pdf. Cited by Santelli J, Ott MA, Lyon M, Rogers J, Summers D, Schleifer R. Abstinence and
abstinence-only education: a review of U.S. policies and programs. J Adolesc Health. 2006;38(1):72-81.​

5​

​

Vincent ML, Clearie AF, Schluchter MD. Reducing adolescent pregnancy through school and community-based
education. JAMA. 1987;257(24):3382-6.​

6​

​

Doniger AS, Adams E, Utter CA, Riley JS. Impact evaluation of the "not me, not now" abstinence-oriented,
adolescent pregnancy prevention communications program, Monroe County, New York. J Health Commun.
2001;6(1):45-60.​

7​

​

Santelli, 2006, Abstinence, op.cit.​

8​

​

Responsible Education About Life Act, S 368, 109th Cong, 1st Sess (Feb 10, 2005).​

9​

​

Family Life Education Act, HR 768, 109th Cong, 1st Sess (Feb 10, 2005).​

10​

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Responsible Education about Life Act, HR 2553, 109th Cong, 1st Sess (May 23, 2005).​

11​

​

Prevention First Act, S 20, 109th Cong, 1st Sess (Jan 24, 2005).​

12​

​

To expand access to preventive health care services that help reduce unintended pregnancy, reduce the number of
abortions, and improve access to women's health care, S 844, 109th Cong, 1st Sess, (Apr 19, 2005).​

13​

​

Prevention First Act, HR 1709, 109th Cong, 1st Sess (Apr 19, 2005).​

14​

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Kirby D. Sexuality education: it can reduce unprotected intercourse. SIECUS Rep. 1993;21(2):19-25.​

15​

​

Ellenberg J. Sex and significance: how the Heritage Foundation cooked the books on virginity. Slate [serial
online]. Posted July 7, 2005. Available from: http://slate.msn.com/id/2122093/ Cited by Santelli J, Ott MA, Lyon M,
Rogers J, Summers D, Schleifer R. Abstinence and abstinence-only education: a review of U.S. policies and
programs. J Adolesc Health. 2006;38(1):72-81.​

16​

​

Kick R. Bush administration removes health info from federal web-sites. The Memory Hole web site. Posted 28
Oct 2002 Available from: www.thememoryhole.org/health/healthsites-scrub.htm. Cited by Santelli J, Ott MA, Lyon
M, Rogers J, Summers D, Schleifer R. Abstinence and abstinence-only education: a review of U.S. policies and
programs. J Adolesc Health. 2006;38(1):72-81.​

17​

​

Webster's new twentieth century dictionary of the English language, unabridged, 2nd Rev ed. New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1979, 1983​

18​

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Goodson P, Suther S, Pruitt BE, Wilson K. Defining abstinence: views of directors, instructors, and participants in
abstinence-only until-marriage programs in Texas. J Sch Health. 2003;73(3):91–6.​

19​

​

"virgin* OR nonvirgin*". PubMed [database online]. Bethesda, Md. : National Library of Medicine. 2006.
Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi. Accessed 5/1/2006.​

20​

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Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary, 30th ed. Philadelphia, Penn.: W.B. Saunders, 2003​

21​

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Orr DP, Beiter M, Ingersoll G. Premature sexual activity as an indicator of psychosocial risk. Pediatrics.​

1991;87(2):141-7.​

22​

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Hallfors DD, Waller MW, Bauer D, Ford CA, Halpern CT. Which comes first in adolescence--sex and drugs or
depression? Am J Prev Med. 2005;29(3):163-70.​

23​

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Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates WJ. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and
prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspect Sex Reprod Health 2004;36(1):6-10.​

24​

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines 2002. MMWR​

2002;51(RR-6):1-80.​

25​

​

Albert B, Brown S, Flanigan C, eds. Fourteen and younger: the sexual behavior of young adolescents.​

Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy; 2003.​

26​

​

Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ; Menacker F, Munson ML. Births: Final Data for 2003 Natl Vital
Stat Rep. 2005;54(2):1-116.​

27​

​

Shrier LA, Harris SK, Beardslee WR. Temporal associations between depressive symptoms and self-reported​

sexually transmitted disease among adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(6):599-606.

 

[sister_maynard]

Contraceptive education is an integral part of sex education, IMO. Parents who object can always pull their children out of such lessons.

Exactly. It's better for parents to have the option as a default than to be too embarrassed or uninformed to teach their children about the most effective uses of birth control.

 

[The Bellman]

I never said it does. Just pointing out the huge flaw in this study that says it does not.

Except you didn't point out any flaw, huge or otherwise.

 

[Steezie]

sounds fair. take a look at this one and let me know what you think. The authors meet your criteria:

Ok, lets see

Kate Hendricks, MD, MPH&TM
Patricia Thickstun, PhD
Anjum Khurshid, MBBS, MPAff
Sheetal Malhotra, MBBS, MS

K[SIZE=-1]ate Hendricks is an [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Epidemiologist and Administrator, her specialization is in Tropical Diseases. She seems to be an administrator at MISH

Patricia Thickstun is apparently a Pediatrician (I cant find much more mention on her)

Anjum Khurshid's second degree is a Master of Public Affairs and does a lot of advocacy for abstinence and is the Vice President of the [/SIZE]The Medical Institute for Sexual Health, an institute that seems to do everything possible to support the idea that pre-marital sex is bad. I also have questions on the veracity of many claims the MISH makes on thier website

Sheetal Malhotra also seems to hail from the MISH and is a surgeon.

I question the validity of the claims from a group of doctors all from the same institute that make somewhat questionable claims and assertions mis-matched from out-dated statistics

 

[NeTrips]

Ahh, the goal post shift.

So now they not only need to be doctors, they need to not have secondary degrees or be part of a group you question. Gotcha.

Am I correct in saying that unless the authors say what you want them to say and they do not have any further training in any other fields you will question their objectivity?