While federal funding for abstinence-only education is being extended for another 6 months despite extensive reports showing its ineffectiveness, a new report shows that comprehensive sex education is doing its job.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report, which was also published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, revealing that teenagers who have received sex education in school are far more likely to put off sex than those who haven't. Who would have thought.
They found teenage boys who had sex education in school were 71 percent less likely to have intercourse before age 15, and teen girls who had sex education were 59 percent less likely to have sex before age 15.Sex education also increased the likelihood that teen boys would use contraceptives the first time they had sex. . . But sex education appeared to have no effect on whether teen girls used birth control, the researchers found.
Additionally, black teenage girls who received sex ed in school were 91 percent less likely to have sex before age 15. Trisha Mueller, an epidemiologist with the CDC who led the study, said it plain and simple which actually made me laugh out loud: "Sex education seems to be working."
Indeed, Trisha. Indeed.
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You think?! But it's great to get some numbers on this--I feel a big "We told you so!" coming on.
I'm glad there's finally empirical evidence to back up our claim, it’s much easier to advocate a point with statistics and science to refer to.
Hopefully this also gets some financial attention and there is more money put into sex ed in our schools.
I love me some good news in the morning :) Yes! Now hopefully these findings implement change in sex ed. I doubt it'll happen anytime soon [or before the new administration for that matter] but sometime is better than never..
Thanks for posting good news!!
oh and here's the actual article: it's really interesting (well at least for us psych nerds) ;)
http://www.jahonline.org/article/PIIS1054139X07003254/abstract
Does anyone have access to the full text of the article? I want to check how they define "formal sex education". Do they exclude abstinence-only?
This will be retested about 500 times before the abstinence-only people will even look at it. They will do their own testing and skew the results so abstinence-only education comes out on top, or if that's too challenging, they'll bury the results and try again...
Does anyone have access to the full text of the article? I want to check how they define "formal sex education". Do they exclude abstinence-only?
The problem with this report, as I understand it, is that it does not delineate between sex ed programs that teach only abstinence and programs that teach about abstinence as well as contraception. Thus the scientifically proven failures of abstinence-only education are lumped in with the proven successes of comprehensive sex ed. This is at best a not-so-scientific oversight, and at worse a subversive attempt by the CDC to give fuel to the dimming abstinence-only fire. What’s more, the report does not seem to talk about the kinds of sex that these teens are having. Are they practicing safer sex? Many reports, including one from the Guttmacher Institute have shown that while teens who receive comprehensive sex ed are more likely to delay sex but they are also much more likely to practice contraception. (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/10/2/gpr100202.html) This underlying assumption that teenage sex is bad no matter what does not leave us room to discuss all the responsible choices available to sexually active teens.
Please correct me if this is not what the article actually says. I can't seem to find a full text online.
The problem with this report, as I understand it, is that it does not delineate between sex ed programs that teach only abstinence and programs that teach about abstinence as well as contraception. Thus the scientifically proven failures of abstinence-only education are lumped in with the proven successes of comprehensive sex ed. This is at best a not-so-scientific oversight, and at worse a subversive attempt by the CDC to give fuel to the dimming abstinence-only fire. What’s more, the report does not seem to talk about the kinds of sex that these teens are having. Are they practicing safer sex? Many reports, including one from the Guttmacher Institute have shown that while teens who receive comprehensive sex ed are more likely to delay sex but they are also much more likely to practice contraception. (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/10/2/gpr100202.html) This underlying assumption that teenage sex is bad no matter what does not leave us room to discuss all the responsible choices available to sexually active teens.
Please correct me if this is not what the article actually says. I can't seem to find a full text online.
Oh, wait.
"The researchers did not evaluate the content of sex education programs, including whether students were taught about contraception or about abstinence only."
Never mind. The abstinence-only people will claim this as a victory.
Clearly, the numbers for abstinence-only and comprehensive sex ed need to be disaggregated.
Hi, everyone - first-time commentator here. Looking forward to expanding my horizons on this site. First question: What is the criticism with respect to abstinence-only? (My apologies if this is a naive query.)
"Hi, everyone - first-time commentator here. Looking forward to expanding my horizons on this site. First question: What is the criticism with respect to abstinence-only? (My apologies if this is a naive query.)"
Hi Ben! The criticism tends to be that abstinence-only "instruction" (yes, I'm using scare quotes - I can't help myself!) is ineffective in preventing teens from engaging in sexual activity, AND it does not provide them with much-needed information regarding how to engage in sexual activity safely (via the use of condoms, contraceptives, dental dams, etc).
If you scroll on down the front page of Feministing, you'll find lots and lots of posts regarding abstinence-only education, such as the fact that fourteen states are currently refusing to use federal funding for abstinence programs, there is no research proving that it is effective, etc.
Hey Ben, when people refer to abstinence-only education they are not refering to the idea that someone might choose to be abstinate, but the system which decives young women that if they sleep with, say three people, they will loose the ability to bond with future spouces or children. And similar bulls**t.
Why, thank you, Ariane! I had just finished slapping my forehead after scrolling down to notice those things myself. I'll do a little reading prior to asking another silly question!
Hey Ben, when people refer to abstinence-only education they are not refering to the idea that someone might choose to be abstinate, but the system which decives young women that if they sleep with, say three people, they will loose the ability to bond with future spouces or children. And similar bulls**t.
FYI.. the questions in the survey re: formal sex ed were only posed to respondents who were under 20, and they were the following:
CF-2: Now I'm interested in knowing about formal sex education you
may have had. (Before you were 18, did you ever have/ Have you
ever had) any formal instruction at school, church, a community
center or some other place about how to say no to sex?
Females Yes-982 No-168
CF-3: What grade were you in when you first received instruction
on how to say no to sex?
CF-4: Did you receive instruction about how to say no to sex
before or after the first time you had sex?
Females: Before:28 After:8
CF-5: (Before you were 18, did you ever have/ Have you ever had)
any formal instruction at school, church, a community center or
some other place about methods of birth control?
Females: Yes-808 No-342
CF-7: Did you receive instruction about methods of birth control before or after the first time you had sex?
Females: Before-36 After-23
So, it sounds like it wouldn't be possible to separate abstinence-only in this survey. I also wonder about self-reporting problems here: maybe if I have done something stupid or dangerous (like failing to use contraceptive while having sex as a teenager) I am less likely to admit knowing better than if I haven't done something stupid.
I would prefer something more verifiable, like whether sex ed was required at your school or something (although that would have its own host of problems). Anyways, good first step, I suppose.
Thank you, Andrew. I think my problem is that I was not aware that such disinformation was disseminated. I certainly don't recall receiving any of it during the sex education I received at public school, which amounted to a day or two in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, as well as entire units on sex education in both seventh and ninth grade (which was, roughly, 1987-1992). Is this sort of disinformation campaign (if it may fairly be described as such) a regional phenomenon? (And I have no idea why we didn't have such a class in eighth grade in my school district.) I must be totally clueless about this issue!
Ben, you weren't a product of abstinence-only education because it's a Bush administration phenomenon rather than a regional one. (And I'm assuming you've been out of high school a few years.)
Ohh, I forgot. If you want to play around with the data, it's here: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nsfg/nsfgcycle6datadoccodebooks.htm
, including spiffy prebuilt import files for STATA, SPSS, and SAS.
sarahMC--um, president bush didn't invent abstinence-only sex ed (oxymoron, what?). i grew up in suburban texas in the 90s and we did abstinence-only because my town is full of wackjob fundamentalists. in fifth grade we were separated by gender and given a brief anatomy lesson that for the girls at least, only taught us about our periods, nothing about sex at all. then later on, in junior high and even high school, our sex-ed consisted of being shown slides of STD-ridden genitals and similar scare-tactics, like being told repeatedly that condoms would not protect against STDs. seriously. this was the brainchild of our reigning wackjob (female i might add) ob/gyn (who wouldn't prescribe birth control to unmarried women, incidentally) who administered the program for the whole school district.
sarahMC--um, president bush didn't invent abstinence-only sex ed (oxymoron, what?). i grew up in suburban texas in the 90s and we did abstinence-only because my town is full of wackjob fundamentalists. in fifth grade we were separated by gender and given a brief anatomy lesson that for the girls at least, only taught us about our periods, nothing about sex at all. then later on, in junior high and even high school, our sex-ed consisted of being shown slides of STD-ridden genitals and similar scare-tactics, like being told repeatedly that condoms would not protect against STDs. seriously. this was the brainchild of our reigning wackjob (female i might add) ob/gyn (who wouldn't prescribe birth control to unmarried women, incidentally) who administered the program for the whole school district.
sarahMC--um, president bush didn't invent abstinence-only sex ed (oxymoron, what?). i grew up in suburban texas in the 90s and we did abstinence-only because my town is full of wackjob fundamentalists. in fifth grade we were separated by gender and given a brief anatomy lesson that for the girls at least, only taught us about our periods, nothing about sex at all. then later on, in junior high and even high school, our sex-ed consisted of being shown slides of STD-ridden genitals and similar scare-tactics, like being told repeatedly that condoms would not protect against STDs. seriously. this was the brainchild of our reigning wackjob (female i might add) ob/gyn (who wouldn't prescribe birth control to unmarried women, incidentally) who administered the program for the whole school district.
sarahMC--um, president bush didn't invent abstinence-only sex ed (oxymoron, what?). i grew up in suburban texas in the 90s and we did abstinence-only because my town is full of wackjob fundamentalists. in fifth grade we were separated by gender and given a brief anatomy lesson that for the girls at least, only taught us about our periods, nothing about sex at all. then later on, in junior high and even high school, our sex-ed consisted of being shown slides of STD-ridden genitals and similar scare-tactics, like being told repeatedly that condoms would not protect against STDs. seriously. this was the brainchild of our reigning wackjob (female i might add) ob/gyn (who wouldn't prescribe birth control to unmarried women, incidentally) who administered the program for the whole school district.
sarahMC--um, president bush didn't invent abstinence-only sex ed (oxymoron, what?). i grew up in suburban texas in the 90s and we did abstinence-only because my town is full of wackjob fundamentalists. in fifth grade we were separated by gender and given a brief anatomy lesson that for the girls at least, only taught us about our periods, nothing about sex at all. then later on, in junior high and even high school, our sex-ed consisted of being shown slides of STD-ridden genitals and similar scare-tactics, like being told repeatedly that condoms would not protect against STDs. seriously. this was the brainchild of our reigning wackjob (female i might add) ob/gyn (who wouldn't prescribe birth control to unmarried women, incidentally) who administered the program for the whole school district.
Ben, the problem with abstinence-only curricula is not that it advises teens to abstain from sex (which is of course a good idea) but that it employs scare tactics, reinforcement of strict gender roles, and blatant misinformation to do so. A good summation is here: http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20041201102153-50247.pdf
I think many people have no idea that their children are being taught this garbage, and if they did, I suspect they'd be opposed to it, too.
sorry for the multiple postings. the site is acting up for me today.
Anyone care to join me in a big collective "DUH"?
I'll tell you, the graphic slide show depicting genitals with STDs certainly made me think about contraceptives in high school. I actually had a quality sex ed class in high school. We learned about contraception, the STD slide show was part of it, not intended to scare anyone into abstinence. It was more like, abstinence is 100% effective, but if you're not going to abstain, that's fine, here's how to protect yourself. Oh, and if condoms aren't cool with you, here's a bunch of green lumpy penises to think about when you go out without a raincoat.
Also, there were like two pregnancies in the entire school the 4 years I was there.
Anyone care to join me in a big collective "DUH"?
I'll tell you, the graphic slide show depicting genitals with STDs certainly made me think about contraceptives in high school. I actually had a quality sex ed class in high school. We learned about contraception, the STD slide show was part of it, not intended to scare anyone into abstinence. It was more like, abstinence is 100% effective, but if you're not going to abstain, that's fine, here's how to protect yourself. Oh, and if condoms aren't cool with you, here's a bunch of green lumpy penises to think about when you go out without a raincoat.
Also, there were like two pregnancies in the entire school the 4 years I was there. And this is a pretty big school. Well over 1000 students.
Anyone care to join me in a big collective "DUH"?
I'll tell you, the graphic slide show depicting genitals with STDs certainly made me think about contraceptives in high school. I actually had a quality sex ed class in high school. We learned about contraception, the STD slide show was part of it, not intended to scare anyone into abstinence. It was more like, abstinence is 100% effective, but if you're not going to abstain, that's fine, here's how to protect yourself. Oh, and if condoms aren't cool with you, here's a bunch of green lumpy penises to think about when you go out without a raincoat.
Also, there were like two pregnancies in the entire school the 4 years I was there. And this is a pretty big school. Well over 1000 students.
Sorry about the double post. I tried to stop it so I could add something and I guess it didn't listen.
I stand corrected on how abstinence-only originated. Oh well. Point is, it hasn't always been as widespread as it is now.
It's really unfortunate that this study makes no distinction between comprehensive sex education and those abstinence only programs that use fake statistics to scare kids out of having sex.
It's really unfortunate that this study makes no distinction between comprehensive sex education and those abstinence only programs that use fake statistics to scare kids out of having sex.
No! Comprehensive sex education actually WORKS? *GASP* I never would have thought!
/sacrasm
Perhaps this is because I grew up in California, but I got information about contraception in 7th grade. I thought this was great because the first of kids to start experimenting will do it in middle school. By 9th grade, most of the early bloomers will have had sex already. I read somewhere that the average age of first intercourse in America is 17.
No! Comprehensive sex education actually WORKS? *GASP* I never would have thought!
/sacrasm
Perhaps this is because I grew up in California, but I got information about contraception in 7th grade. I thought this was great because the first of kids to start experimenting will do it in middle school. By 9th grade, most of the early bloomers will have had sex already. I read somewhere that the average age of first intercourse in America is 17.
Thanks to all for the help on this.
I've read the average age is 16 in America in a few different places. I agree it should definitely be done in grade 7. I had sex ed in grade 7 and 9 at least. I was kind of shocked to see a condom in grade 7 but it seems this is necessary at that age. This is in Canada where I've never heard of sex-ed controversy happening here.
For some reason, I got my mom to sign some sort of waiver to get me out of sex-ed in high school (although I did take the junior high version) because I was more interested in taking classes that would get me into college. What's funny, is that I didn't get sex-ed in high school, but, like YogiDanielle, I grew up in California so the junior high version was pretty comprehensive. But even with only that, I managed to get through high school without getting pregnant or an STI. I think that is because my mom was very open and supportive about sex, and at 17 I could talk to her about being on the pill, and how my boyfriend always wanted to use condoms anyway, just to be safe (ah, those were the days...) Would that we all had mothers like mine.
"The problem with this report, as I understand it, is that it does not delineate between sex ed programs that teach only abstinence and programs that teach about abstinence as well as contraception."
So it's lumping those together and comparing them to high schools that don't even mention abstinence let alone condoms?
"For some reason, I got my mom to sign some sort of waiver to get me out of sex-ed in high school (although I did take the junior high version) because I was more interested in taking classes that would get me into college."
I did that too, although the "health" class wasn't just sex ed.
As for middle school, science class all year was on the human body. The reproductivve system was covered the same way the pulmonary system, the nervous system, etc. were. :)
As for info about birth control, I got that from my mom's copy of Our Bodies Ourselves, my parents' other health reference books, and from the library because my parents let me go there a lot.
"But even with only that, I managed to get through high school without getting pregnant or an STI. I think that is because my mom was very open and supportive about sex..."
Same here, except in my case it was because
(1) I didn't want to have sex while still living with my parents
(2) even if I did want to risk my parents overhearing or otherwise finding out about me having sex, and then demanding intimate details "because we're responsible for your health," I didn't have anyone willing to have sex with me
(3) I don't want sex with someone against his will
This has been known for a long time. Empirically, just compare sex education in the US vs Sweden. In Sweden, they have sex education every year starting at like age 9. The average age of losing their virginity is 2 years later than in the US.
But this only stands to reason.
What better way to make kids lose interest in a topic than to teach it in school?