Virginity pledge looks good, but does no good, according to a large study

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 21 Mar 2005 - 9:00 PDT


According to a study carried out on 12,000 young people by Yale University researchers, young people who promise to stay virgin until they marry have the same risks of developing STDs as other young people. Researchers also found that those who took the virginity pledge are more likely to take part in anal sex and oral sex.

Many are calling the abstinence move 'the vanity pledge' - meaning, it looks good and that is all it does.

You can read about the study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Other studies have shown that the virginity pledge is nearly always broken by those who make the promise. The problem then is that these people have not had adequate sexual health education and are more likely to develop STDs unknowingly and end up going to the doctor when the disease(s) is in its advanced stage.

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