Report: Abstinence programs don't work

[Peach81]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071108/ap_on_re_us/teen_sex;_ylt=Ajn.29Dw7XCXRA.LOZTh.mHVJRIF

WASHINGTON - Programs that focus exclusively on abstinence have not been shown to affect teenager sexual behavior, although they are eligible for tens of mil lions of dollars in federal grants, according to a study released by a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce teen pregnancies.

"At present there does not exist any strong evidence that any abstinence program delays the initiation of sex, hastens the return to abstinence or reduces the number of sexual partners" among teenagers, the study concluded.

The report, which was based on a review of research into teenager sexual behavior, was being released Wednesday by the nonpartisan National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
The study found that while abstinence-only efforts appear to have little positive impact, more comprehensive sex education programs were having "positive outcomes" including teenagers "delaying the initiation of sex, reducing the frequency of sex, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing condom or contraceptive use."

"Two-thirds of the 48 comprehensive programs that supported both abstinence and the use of condoms and contraceptives for sexually active teens had positive behavior effect," said the report.

A spending bill before Congress for the Department of Health and Human Services would provide $141 million in assistance for community-based, abstinence-only sex education programs, $4 million more than what President Bush had requested.

The study, conducted by Douglas Kirby, a senior research scientist at ETR Associates, also sought to debunk what the report called "myths propagated by abstinence-only advocates" including: that comprehensive sex education promotes promiscuity, hastens the initiative of sex or increases its frequency, and sends a confusing message to adolescents.
None of these was found to be accurate, Kirby wrote.
Instead, he wrote, such programs improved teens' knowledge about the risks and consequences of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and gave them greater "confidence in their ability to say 'no' to unwanted sex."

The sponsors of the study praised Kirby for his "thorough research" and for being "fair and evenhanded," but they also acknowledged that ETR Associates developed and markets several of the sex education curricula reviewed in the report. Several of the previous studies that were reviewed also were written by Kirby.
The report noted that there continues to be "too high levels of sexual risk-taking among teens" with 47 percent of all high schools students reporting having sex at least once and 63 percent saying they have engaged in sex by the spring semester of their senior year.
"Many teenagers do not use contraceptives carefully and consistently," said the report. About 40 of every 1,000 girls age 15 to 19 gave birth in 2005, the last year for which data was available, the report said.
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Discuss...

 

[Paulos23]

Can't say this is a surprise.

 

[flicka]

Yup. It's pretty clear you need comprehensive sex ed which includes abstinence but isn't limited to it.

 

[PassionFruit]

The only thing I can say is, duh!

You know the state of Texas, it's the place were Abstinence-only education is being promoted the most, but.....

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-teenbirths_05tex.ART.State.Edition2.4238fb3.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-24-repeat-teen-births_N.htm

 

[fuzzymel]

The only thing I can say is, duh!

You know the state of Texas, it's the place were Abstinence-only education is being promoted the most, but.....

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-teenbirths_05tex.ART.State.Edition2.4238fb3.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-24-repeat-teen-births_N.htm

Why on earth do they continue with a program which seems to encourage the opposite of what they want?

 

[KomissarSteve]

Why on earth do they continue with a program which seems to encourage the opposite of what they want?

Unfortunately, troublesome facts have never seemed to get in the way of socially conservative ideology in the past; it's unlikely that it will in this case, as well.

But yeah, it's both baffling and infuriating, and it just shows that social conservatives' goal really isn't to eliminate unwanted pregnancy or abortions - it's to stop people from having sex. Which is, of course, as Quixotic a quest as they come.

 

[PassionFruit]

Why on earth do they continue with a program which seems to encourage the opposite of what they want?

I don't know really, but my guess is, many conservatives don't really seem to care too much about comprehensive sex education, like Steve said, it's all about stopping teens from having sex. But that's what's so messed up about this, abstinence only education hasn't been able to do just that.

If social conservatives would stop treating this like a moral issue, then we can get somewhere. I advocate we approach this the same way Europeans approach it, like an issue of public health.

 

[quatona]

Why on earth do they continue with a program which seems to encourage the opposite of what they want?

How do we know what they actually want?

 

[WatersMoon110]

Obviously many parents want their children to refrain from sex until marriage/until they are ready. But learning about how and why to use contraceptive methods doesn't make anyone have sex. It is obvious that the 90% of people who won't wait until marriage to have sex are going to have sex even if they don't learn about contraceptives. And those people who have personal moral reasons to remain abstinent can do so even with the knowledge of how to better prevent STIs and pregnancy, and might even want to use contraceptives after they marry!

There is no way (short of neutering everyone) to prevent people from having sex, if they want to. Why can't we focus on preventing pregnancy and the spread of disease, as well as encouraging people to not choose to have sex until they are ready?

 

[Ramona]

There's a quote I like that goes, "Vows of abstinence break more easily than latex condoms." And it's true.

 

[WatersMoon110]

There's a quote I like that goes, "Vows of abstinence break more easily than latex condoms." And it's true.

I swear I saw research that indicated that abstinence vows both encouraged teens to have sex sooner (than teens who didn't take such vows) and made them less likely to use contraception when they did have sex.

 

[KomissarSteve]

Seems like vows of abstinence break more easily than latex condoms.

Statistically, it certainly is true.

 

[TheManeki]

There's a quote I like that goes, "Vows of abstinence break more easily than latex condoms." And it's true.

I am living proof of that. The right girl came along for me and the rest, as they say, is history...

Same for breaking the vows not to drink alcohol that my 5th-grade Sunday School teacher pressured us all into taking. (I went to a Southern Baptist church, so we used grape juice for communion anyway.)

 

[happydance]

I have friend who drilled the abstinence only message into her daughter's head. The girl ended up getting pregnant at 15.
Turns out that neither she nor the boy were familiar with the proper technique of applying condoms. No one ever taught them to leave room at the tip.

 

[The Bellman]

I'm betting on a dearth of comments in this thread from the conservatives...particularly those who have proudly said that they educate their children 'abstinence only'.

 

[Verv]

I feel one thing that counters abstinence is the culture of America itself, which promotes sex in all of its music and videos as if it is something that youth should be engaged in.

Furthermore, with Americans working some of the longest hours in the world families no longer spend time with their kids and provide education. Some of the parents do not even want to provide an adequate moral backbone to their kids.

The sources of the problem were never school so how can school cure it?

 

[KomissarSteve]

I feel one thing that counters abstinence is the culture of America itself, which promotes sex in all of its music and videos as if it is something that youth should be engaged in.

How completely and utterly ironic that Fox, then, that the most openly conservative network on TV, should be the spearhead of the smuttification of the American airwaves.

Also keep in mind that studies show that the rates of premarital sex haven't gone up significantly since the 1950's.

Furthermore, with Americans working some of the longest hours in the world families no longer spend time with their kids and provide education. Some of the parents do not even want to provide an adequate moral backbone to their kids.

I know, it's tough when so much of their money has to go to providing healthcare and other benefits that governments are providing in other countries, that parents have to take on more than one job or have to work longer hours to compensate.

The sources of the problem were never school so how can school cure it?

Mmmmmm, are you so sure that the source of the problem was never school? It seems to me that we've never really tried widespread comprehensive sex education yet in our country's history...

 

[Paulos23]

There is something more powerful then the culture of America that encourages kids to have sex, and that is their hormones. If they are taught only "don't have sex", hormones and human curiosity will override that quickly give the right situation. It would be better if they have some good knowledge of contraceptives, and the consequences of sex at that moment so they can make a good decision (no sex at best, using condoms would be next best).

If parents don't teach this or don't want to teach this it falls to the schools as a public health issue.

 

[quatona]

You need very persuasive arguments in order to keep people from acting upon a strong natural drive.

 

[Steezie]

I have friend who drilled the abstinence only message into her daughter's head. The girl ended up getting pregnant at 15.
Turns out that neither she nor the boy were familiar with the proper technique of applying condoms. No one ever taught them to leave room at the tip.

I was a peer counselor in high school. I talked to a lot of kids about sex and the like. Several girls actually told me, and this is true, that placing a tab from a soda can inside themselves after sex would keep them from getting pregnant. One girl swore up and down that it worked because she did it and said she never got pregnant. I also had to point out that you had to have VAGINAL sex to be able to get pregnant and that anal sex was extremely unlikely to produce pregnancy.

Its truly frightening to hear all the mythos that arises when kids dont have the proper education