The answer as to whether abstinence-only sex education works depends on what it is intended to work for.
If the goal of abstinence-only sex education is the same as the goals of most sexual health education for teens, that is to prevent unwanted pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, then the answer is that abstinence-only sex education does not work. There is no evidence to suggest it works, and there are several studies the show it does not work.
Some studies show that abstinence-only programs, like the ones that require teens to “pledge” that they will abstain from sexual intercourse, do manage to delay sexual behavior in those teens. Mind you many of the teens who enter these programs have already been sexually active, and are now “re-committing” to abstinence.
The problem is that abstinence-only education does not provide information about the importance of condoms in reducing the risk of STD transmission. It also does not provide information about other forms of contraception, including emergency contraception, known as the morning after pill. As a result, once teens jump off the abstinence bandwagon, they are probably less likely to use protection, and as a result, teens involved in abstinence-only programs are no less likely to get an STD than teens who are not.
One of my biggest concerns about the abstinence-only movement is that it is predicated on the idea that sex before marriage is harmful, an idea that has no evidence-based merit behind it. The federal abstinence provisions include the statement: "Sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects." Yet according to a study quoted in a Reuters report on abstinence 93 percent of American men and 80 percent of American women between ages 18 and 59 were not virgins on their wedding night.
Perhaps those who are writing this policy believe that the vast majority of us are psychologically damaged, but as usual, there is no research to suggest this is the case. And it could be argued that a behavior engaged in by between 80-90% of the population may not be as socially deviant as the current administration would suggest it is.
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