Most New Jersey Adults Support Instruction On Birth Control In High Schools, Survey Finds

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 20 Aug 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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More than 90% of New Jersey adults said they support teaching teenagers about birth control in high school and three-quarters say it is appropriate to do so at the middle school level, according to a survey released Sunday by Monmouth University and Gannett New Jersey, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

According to the survey, nearly 60% of adults disagreed with a belief by some that sex education encourages teens to have sex before they otherwise would while about 30% of adults hold this belief. About one-third of participants in the poll said that schools should state that sex is proper only within marriage, while 40% said schools should teach that sexual practices are a personal choice. The poll surveyed 1,004 adults in the state from July 17 to July 21, and it has a margin of error of three percentage points.

According to Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, the poll "revealed some surprising differences in opinion among parents of teenage daughters." He added, "They appear to be less worried than other parents about teenage pregnancy and slightly less supportive of sex education." About half of parents with daughters ages 12 to 17 viewed teen pregnancy as a major problem in the state, compared with about 60% among all adults surveyed.

The poll also found that most adults viewed publicity surrounding the pregnancies of young celebrities, such as Jamie Lynn Spears and Britney Spears, has made teen pregnancy more acceptable to teens. Teen pregnancy rates have been falling in New Jersey but New Jersey's teen birth rate increased from 11.9 births per 1,000 girls in 2005 to 12.4 births per 1,000 girls in 2006, according to preliminary state Department of Health and Senior Services data (Gold, AP/Long Island Newsday, 8/17).

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