30% Of Ill. Sex Education Teachers Untrained, Many Do Not Discuss Contraception, Study Says

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 04 Feb 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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About 30% of sex education teachers in Illinois have not been trained to teach the subject, compared with 18% nationwide, according to a study published in the February issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, the AP/Peoria Journal Star reports (AP/Peoria Journal Star, 1/31).

For the study -- commissioned by the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and Planned Parenthood Chicago Area -- Stacy Tessler Lindau, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and colleagues surveyed 335 sex education teachers at 201 public middle and high schools in Illinois (Banchero, Chicago Tribune, 1/31). According to the study, 97% of the teachers discussed HIV/AIDS in sex education lessons, 96% discussed sexually transmitted infections and 89% discussed abstinence until marriage. Among the teachers who discussed abstinence, 57% said abstinence was the "best alternative" to sexual activity, 39% said it was the "only alternative" and 4% said it was "one alternative" (AP/Peoria Journal Star, 1/31).

The least-discussed topics in sex education classes were emergency contraception at 31%, sexual orientation at 33%, condom use at 34% and abortion at 39%, the study found (AP/Peoria Journal Star, 1/31). The study noted that about two-thirds of high school seniors are sexually active but that many have not received education about birth control, how to obtain contraceptives or how to use condoms. About 68% of the teachers surveyed said they discussed birth control (Chicago Tribune, 1/31).

According to the study, 93% of public schools in the state offered sex education. Illinois public schools are not required to discuss most sex education topics, but elementary and secondary schools are required to discuss abstinence until marriage, and disease prevention and control, Matt Vanover, spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education, said (AP/Peoria Journal Star, 1/31).

Conclusions

The study concluded that federal funding for abstinence-only sex education under the Bush administration is partly responsible for the study's findings. Lindau said researchers are concerned that "such restrictive approaches leave students unprepared to prevent pregnancy" or STIs (Chicago Tribune, 1/31). She added that abstinence is an "important" part of sex education lessons but that it is "not sufficient for the kinds of decisions young people are faced with in regards to sexuality" (AP/Peoria Journal Star, 1/31).

The study's authors said that physicians should teach sex education classes to ensure youth receive accurate information. "Doctors need to be proactive and initiate discussion about sexuality with adolescents and their parents," Lindau said, adding, "Accurate knowledge is power" (Chicago Tribune, 1/31).

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