New Study Of Abstinence-Only Program Has Limitations, Experts Say

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 04 Feb 2010 - 4:00 PST

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A recent study that found for the first time that an abstinence-only sex education program was effective at delaying sexual activity among teens is "already beginning to shake up" the debate over the best strategies to prevent teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, the New York Times reports. Advocates and experts are urging policymakers to use caution and consider the study's limitations when moving forward with sex education policy. The study's release comes as the Obama administration replaces federal money for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs with a teen pregnancy prevention initiative that would fund programs proven effective through scientific studies, the Times reports.

The new study, which involved 662 black students at middle schools in urban areas, found that about one-third of the students who participated in a weekend abstinence-only class began sexual activity within two years, compared with about 42% of students assigned to comprehensive sex-education classes that cover both safer sex and abstinence. The abstinence-only class included information on HIV, abstinence and ways to resist pressure to have sex.

The study's lead author, John Jemmott of the University of Pennsylvania, said the study is "rigorous" and "means we can now say that it's possible for an abstinence-only intervention to be effective," which is "important, because for some populations, abstinence is the only acceptable message" (Lewin, New York Times, 2/3).

Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said that the study "provides the first strong evidence that abstinence-only education can help very young teens delay sex." He added that the "menu of proven options just got larger, and that's good news."

Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, called the study "the most rigorous study to date," adding, "It just verifies what we've known intuitively all along, which is that abstinence-only education is a very important strategy to help young people delay having sex" (Paulson, Christian Science Monitor, 2/2). Huber added that she hoped the study's findings would lead to restored federal funding for abstinence programs. "The current recommendation before Congress in the 2011 budget zeroes out abstinence education and puts all the money into broader comprehensive education," she said, adding, "I hope that either the White House amends their request or Congress acts upon this, reinstating abstinence education" (New York Times, 2/3).

Study Differs From Moralistic Abstinence Programs

Experts noted that Jemmott's study is different from previous studies on the issue in several areas and cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from the research, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Such differences include a targeted study population that was "quite young," with an average age of 12, according to the Monitor. In addition, the abstinence program counseled participants to delay sex "until they are ready," rather than until marriage. The program also did not include a moralistic tone or disparage condom use, and instructors discussed contraceptive use if the subject came up during the course of the class. "This is not the kind of program that the federal government has been funding," Heather Boonstra, a senior public policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, said, referring to abstinence-only-until-marriage programs funded under the Bush administration. Jemmott said, "This is one study," adding that he hopes other researchers will design similarly rigorous studies to explore the issue in other populations (Christian Science Monitor, 2/2).

An editorial accompanying the study cautioned that public policy should not be based on the results of a single study, the Times reports. The editorial said policymakers should not "selectively use scientific literature to formulate a policy that meets preconceived ideologies." The results of the study "may be surprising to some in that the theory-based abstinence-only curriculum appeared to be as effective as a combined course and more effective than the safer-sex-only curriculum in delaying sexual activity," the editorial said, adding, "None of the curricula had any effect on the prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse or consistent condom use" (New York Times, 2/3).

Broadcast Coverage

~ NPR's "All Things Considered": Tuesday's broadcast included a report on the differences between the abstinence-only program created for the study and programs supported by the Bush administration. Lauren Scher of Concentric Research & Evaluation said, "You can't take this study and say, see, abstinence until marriage works, because this is not an abstinence-until-marriage program." The segment also includes comments from Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, and Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (Wilson, "All Things Considered," NPR, 2/2).

~ ABC's "World News": Tuesday's program included a segment on the study's findings and the possible implications for federal sex education funding (Muir/Siegel, "World News," ABC, 2/2).

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