Abstinence-Only Programs Delay Sexual Activity, Study Says
David Sessions
Washington Reporter
Posted:
02/2/10
Sex education programs that focus on encouraging children to remain abstinent can persuade a significant number to delay sexual activity, according to a landmark study published Monday, the Washington Post reports. The study could have an impact on the debate over sex education in the United States, where several opposing methods contend for funding and legitimacy.
Only a third of the sixth- and seventh-graders who participated in an abstinence-only program started having sex in the next two years, the study found, while nearly half the students who attended other classes became sexually active. Programs that combined information about abstinence and contraception scored the same as other non-abstinence programs in delaying sexual activity.
"I think we've written off abstinence-only education without looking closely at the nature of the evidence," said John Jemmott, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who led the federally funded study. "Our study shows this could be one approach that could be used."
The results provided the first evidence that abstinence-based programs could work, just as the Obama administration has begun to scale back the abstinence-education funding that boomed during the Bush years. Obama cut about $170 million in abstinence-only funding after numerous reports showed that it was ineffective.
Only a third of the sixth- and seventh-graders who participated in an abstinence-only program started having sex in the next two years, the study found, while nearly half the students who attended other classes became sexually active. Programs that combined information about abstinence and contraception scored the same as other non-abstinence programs in delaying sexual activity.
"I think we've written off abstinence-only education without looking closely at the nature of the evidence," said John Jemmott, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who led the federally funded study. "Our study shows this could be one approach that could be used."
The results provided the first evidence that abstinence-based programs could work, just as the Obama administration has begun to scale back the abstinence-education funding that boomed during the Bush years. Obama cut about $170 million in abstinence-only funding after numerous reports showed that it was ineffective.