STUDIES AND STATISTICS : ABSTINENCE PROGRAMS HELP REDUCE TEEN SEXUAL ACTIVITY, TWO NEW STUDIES SHOW
POSTED: APR 22, 2008
WASHINGTON, APRIL 22, 2008 – Researchers at the National Press Club today presented two new studies that highlight encouraging findings on abstinence education.
The first study, conducted by Dr. Stan Weed of the Institute of Research and Evaluation, assessed the effectiveness of abstinence education in reducing the sexual activity of students in Virginia middle schools. “The evaluation shows that abstinence education programs cut the rate of sexual activity among students roughly in half,” Dr. Weed stated. “Similar declines in sexual activity occurred among white and black students.” The study was published in the January/February 2008 issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior. Dr. Weed is scheduled to present his findings at a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow.
The second paper, by Christine Kim and Robert Rector of The Heritage Foundation, presented a comprehensive review of 21 prior studies of the effectiveness of abstinence and virginity pledge programs. Two thirds of these studies appeared in peer-reviewed publications.
“The overwhelming majority of prior studies of abstinence education report positive results,” Christine Kim said. “Sixteen out of 21 studies of abstinence education found youths who received abstinence education had lower rates of sexual activity or other positive behaviors, when compared to youths who did not receive abstinence training.”
Kim added: “The charge that there is no evidence supporting the effectiveness of abstinence programs is not true. The ratio of studies reporting positive results to those reporting no significant results is three to one. Specifically, 11 of the 15 evaluations of abstinence programs reported positive findings. Five of the six studies of virginity pledges also reported positive findings.
“Today’s teens face strong peer pressure to engage in risky behavior and must navigate media and popular culture that endorse and even glamorize permissiveness and casual sex. Each year, some 2.6 million teenagers become sexually active, a rate of 7,000 teens per day. Nearly one half of all high-school students report having engaged in sexual activity. Teens who engage in sexual activity risk a host of negative outcomes including STD infection, emotional and psychological harm, and unwed childbearing,” stated Kim.
Rector noted that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) would hold a hearing on abstinence education in the U.S. House of Representatives the following day. “This hearing is expected to be the first step in an effort to abolish federal abstinence education programs and replace them with so-called comprehensive sex education,” Rector said.
“Most opposition to abstinence education rejects the basic values and messages of abstinence. The false charge that abstinence programs are ineffective is a mere smoke screen designed to obscure the real question of values,” he said.
“Some opponents of abstinence are like fossils left over from the sexual revolution of the ’60s. They believe that teen sexual activity is fine and appropriate as long as the activity is voluntary and the teen wears a condom. So-called comprehensive sex-ed curricula promote that message. Virtually no parents agree with such permissive values, therefore the proponents of permissiveness resort to false claims and misleading slogans to advance their education agenda,” Rector added.
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