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thedailyjournal.com
Report:
Abstinence programs fail to affect
teen sexual behavior
By H. JOSEF HEBERT,
AP from the Web, November 8, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov.7 -- Programs
that focus exclusively on abstinence have not been shown to affect teenager
sexual behavior, although they are eligible for tens of millions 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 teen sexual behavior,
was being released today 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 initiation 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."
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