Tennessean Examines Debate Over Effectiveness Of 'Virginity Pledges'

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 19 Aug 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The Tennessean on Thursday examined the debate over the effectiveness of "virginity pledges" among teenagers. According to a recent RAND study, teens who said they wanted to delay sex were more likely to remain abstinent within three years of taking the pledge than were teens who wanted to avoid sex before marriage but did not take a pledge. However, RAND researcher Steven Martino said virginity pledges do not work for everyone.

Martino said, "Virginity pledges cannot substitute for a comprehensive program of sex education," adding, "Most teens do have sex, and those teens need to know how to protect themselves against unwanted consequences." Martino added that the study found that pledgers were just as likely as nonpledgers to use condoms when they have sex. "Some people say that taking a pledge makes kids less likely to use a condom when they break the pledge. We found that wasn't the case," Martino said.

However, Richard Ross of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary -- co-founder of the Nashville, Tenn.-based True Love Waits program -- said he believes the program's holistic approach, which includes ongoing support groups, helps teens keep their pledges. "Students are not making a pledge to a program," Ross said. "They are making a promise to God. The reason so many students are making it to the altar, having kept their pledge, is that they made their promise to God" (Smietana, Tennessean, 8/14).

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