Definitely not news to sexual health educators across the country, the results of the first national sample survey to compare abstinence-only to comprehensive sex education still come as welcome support for the fight to provide sane and useful sex education to youth in the U.S. From Reuters:
Using data from a 2002 national survey, researchers found that among more than 1,700 unmarried, heterosexual teens between 15 and 19 years old, those who'd received comprehensive sex ed in school were 60 percent less likely to have been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant than teens who'd had no formal sex education. Meanwhile, there was no clear benefit from abstinence-only education in preventing pregnancy or delaying sexual intercourse
The results also indicated that while comprehensive sex education did not have a significant impact on rates of STDs, it had a small impact on the chance that a youth would engage in sex. Abstinence-only programs had no impact on either count. The study is published in the April issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Read more - Reuters: Comprehensive sex ed may cut teen pregnancies
Previously - Abstinence-only programs don’t help, but do they hurt? ; Is Sex Ed. Enough? ; What's Behind the Drop in Teen Pregnancy in the U.S.? ; Over $1 Billion Spent on Abstinence-Only Sex Education Since 1998