Children who took part in sex abstinence classes were found to be just as likely to engage in sexual intercourse for the first time at the same age as children who did not receive these classes, say researchers from Mathematica Policy Research Inc, in a study the US Congress had ordered. According to this latest research, teenagers first had sex at the age of 14.9 years, regardless of whether they attended sex abstinence classes.
Abstinence programs encourage children to refrain from sexual intercourse before marriage. Despite critics saying these programs are a waste of money – money which could be directed in other more effective programs – the US federal government spends $176 million on them annually.
The Bush administration seems to be saying that further abstinence programs are needed, rather than accepting the failure.
Harry Wilson, Commissioner, Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, said the report confirms that these interventions are not like vaccines and that people should not expect one dose in middle school, or a small dose, to be protective all throughout the youth’s high school career.
In this latest study researchers examined four abstinence programs throughout the USA. The students who attended these programs were compared with others, in the same areas, who did not attend the programs – a total of 2,057 children. Those who did take part in the programs did so for 1 to 3 years, aged 11 to 12. The programs started in 1999. They were followed up in 2005/2006, by which time most of the participants, and the controls, were aged 16 and-a-half years. In both groups (those who attended the program and those who didn’t) the number of children who had not engaged in sexual intercourse was identical – about half of them.
Even though the researchers found the programs had no effect on childrens’ sexual habits later on, they stressed that the programs did not result in an increase in the rate of unprotected sex. Critics have suggested that the sex abstinence programs could result in children engaging in unprotected sex in larger numbers.
Many believe the $176 million could be better used in sponsoring comprehensive sex education – these would include abstinence, among other things.
The USA has one of the highest rates of unwanted teenage pregnancies in the Western World.
“Impacts of Four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs,”
Christopher Trenholm, Barbara Devaney, Ken Forston, Lisa Quay, Justin Wheeler, and Melissa Clark
Mathematica Policy Research Inc.
Click here to see study online (pdf)
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today