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The Effectiveness of Abstinence Education Programs in Reducing Sexual Activity Among Youth. April 8, 2. 00. 2 | Backgrounder on Sex Education and Abstinence. By Robert Rector. Teenage sexual activity is a major problem confronting the nation and has led to a rising incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), emotional and psychological injuries, and out- of- wedlock childbearing. Abstinence education programs for youth have been proven to be effective in reducing early sexual activity. Abstinence programs also can provide the foundation for personal responsibility and enduring marital commitment. Therefore, they are vitally important to efforts aimed at reducing out- of- wedlock childbearing among young adult women, improving child well- being, and increasing adult happiness over the long term.
Washington policymakers should be aware of the consequences of early sexual activity, the undesirable contents of conventional "safe sex " education programs, and the findings of the professional literature concerning the effectiveness of genuine abstinence programs. In particular, policymakers should understand that: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including incurable viral infections, have reached epidemic proportions. Annually, 3 million teenagers contract STDs; STDs afflict roughly one in four teens who are sexually active. Early sexual activity has multiple negative consequences for young people. Research shows that young people who become sexually active are not only vulnerable to STDs, but also likely to experience emotional and psychological injuries, subsequent marital difficulties, and involvement in other high- risk behaviors. Conventional "safe sex" programs (sometimes erroneously called "abstinence plus" programs) place little or no emphasis on encouraging young people to abstain from early sexual activity. Instead, such programs strongly promote condom use and implicitly condone sexual activity among teens.
- The research could have major implications for the $176 million in government funds that abstinence-only sex-education programs receive annually.
- Abstinence Education Program. be utilized for the purpose of implementing abstinence sexual education programs to reduce the. is the only method that is.
Nearly all such programs contain material and messages that would be alarming and offensive to the overwhelming majority of parents. Despite claims to the contrary, there are 1. Moreover, real abstinence education is a fairly young field; thus, the number of evaluations of abstinence programs at present is somewhat limited. In the near future, many additional evaluations that demonstrate the effectiveness of abstinence education will become available. Consequences of Early Sexual Activity. Young people who become sexually active enter an arena of high- risk behavior that leads to physical and emotional damage. Each year, influenced by a combination of a youthful assumption of invincibility and a lack of guidance (or misguidance and misleading information), millions of teens ignore those risks and suffer the consequences.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The nation is experiencing an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases that is steadily expanding.
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In the 1. 96. 0s, the beginning of the "sexual revolution," the dominant diseases related to sexual activity were syphilis and gonorrhea. Today, there are more than 2. STDs, infecting an average of more than 1. Two- thirds of all STDs occur in people who are 2. Each year, 3 million teens contract an STD; overall, one- fourth of sexually active teens have been afflicted.[3]There is no cure for sexually transmitted viral diseases such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes, which take their toll on people throughout life. Other common viral STDs are the Human Papillomavirus (HPV)- -the leading viral STD, with 5.
Chlamydia trachomatis, which is associated with pelvic inflammatory disease that scars the fallopian tubes and is the fastest growing cause of infertility. Significantly, research shows that condom use offers relatively little protection (from "zero" to "some") for herpes and no protection from the deadly HPV. A review of the scientific literature reveals that, on average, condoms failed to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus- -which causes the immune deficiency syndrome known as AIDS- -between 1.
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It should not be surprising, therefore, that while condom use has increased over the past 2. STDs has likewise continued to rise.[7]Emotional and Psychological Injury.
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U.S.-funded “abstinence-only” programs are jeopardizing Uganda’s successful fight against HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today. Abstinence. 'Abstinence-only' programs do not teach teens about birth-control methods. Teens only learn that birth control, including condoms, fail at times.
Young people who become sexually active are vulnerable to emotional and psychological injury as well as to physical diseases. Many young girls report experiencing regret or guilt after their initial sexual experience.
In the words of one psychiatrist who recalls the effects of her own sexual experimentation in her teens, "The longest- standing, deepest wound I gave myself was heartfelt; that sick, used feeling of having given a precious part of myself- -my soul- -to so many and for nothing, still aches. I never imagined I'd pay so dearly and for so long."[8]Sexually active youth often live with anxiety about the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy or contracting a devastating STD. Those who do become infected with a disease suffer emotional as well as physical effects. Fears regarding the course the disease are coupled with a loss of self- esteem and self- confidence. In a survey by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, 8. In addition, early sexual activity can negatively affect the ability of young people to form stable and healthy relationships in a later marriage. Sexual relationships among teenagers are fleeting and unstable, and broken intimate relationships can have serious long- term developmental effects.
Abstinence-only sex education is a form of sex education that teaches not having sex outside of marriage. It often excludes other types of sexual and reproductive.
A series of broken intimate relationships can undermine an individual's capacity to enter into a committed, loving marital relationship. In general, individuals who engage in premarital sexual activity are 5. Divorce, in turn, leads to sharp reductions in adult happiness and child well- being. Marital relationships that follow early sexual activity can also suffer from the emotional impact of infertility resulting from an STD infection, ranging from a sense of guilt to depression. In the words of one gynecologist and fertility specialist, "Infertility is so devastating, it often disorients my patients to life itself.
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This is more than shock or even depression. It impacts every level of their lives, including their marriage."[1. Correlation Between Sexual Activity and Other High- Risk Behaviors.
Research from a variety of sources indicates a correlation between sexual activity among adolescents and teens and the likelihood of engaging in other high- risk behaviors, such as tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use. A study reported in Pediatrics magazine found that sexually active boys aged 1. Among girls in this same age cohort, those who are sexually active are seven times more likely to smoke and 1. The report describes sexual activity as a "significant associate of other health- endangering behaviors" and notes an increasing recognition of the interrelation of risk behaviors.
Research by the Alan Guttmacher Institute likewise finds a correlation between risk behaviors among adolescents and sexual activity; for example, teenagers who use alcohol, tobacco, and/or marijuana regularly are more likely to be sexually active.[1. Out- of- Wedlock Childbearing. Today, one child in three is born out of wedlock. Only 1. 4 percent of these births occur to women under the age of 1. Most occur to women in their early twenties.[1. Thus, giving birth control to teens in high school through safe- sex programs will have little effect on out- of- wedlock childbearing. Nearly half of the mothers who give birth outside marriage are cohabiting with the child's father at the time of birth.[1.
These fathers, like the mothers, are typically in their early twenties. Out- of- wedlock childbearing is, thus, not the result of teenagers' lack of knowledge about birth control or a lack of availability of birth control. Rather, it is part of a crisis in the relationships of young adult men and women. Out- of- wedlock childbearing, in most cases, occurs because young adult men and women are unable to develop committed, loving marital relationships.
Abstinence programs, therefore, which focus on developing loving and enduring relationships and preparation for successful marriages, are an essential first step in reducing future levels of out- of- wedlock births. The Silent Scandal: Promoting Teen Sex.
With millions of dollars in sex- education programs at stake, it is not surprising that the groups that have previously dominated the arena have taken action to block the growing movement to abstinence- only education. Such organizations, including the Sexuality Information and education Council of the United States (SEICUS), Planned Parenthood, and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), have been prime supporters of "safe- sex" programs for youth, which entail guidance on the use of condoms and other means of contraception while giving a condescending nod to abstinence.
Clearly, the caveat that says "and if you do engage in sex, this is how you should do it" substantially weakens an admonition against early non- marital sexual activity. Not only do such programs, by their very nature, minimize the abstinence component of sex education, but many of these programs also implicitly encourage sexual activity among the youths they teach. Guidelines developed by SEICUS, for example, include teaching children aged five through eight about masturbation and teaching youths aged 9 through 1. In addition, the SEICUS guidelines suggest informing youths aged 1.
Not only do such activities carry their own risks for youth, but they are also likely to increase the incidence of sexual intercourse. In recent years, parental support for real abstinence education has grown. Because of this, many traditional safe- sex programs now take to calling themselves "abstinence plus" or "abstinence- based" education. In reality, there is little abstinence training in "abstinence- based" education.
Instead, these programs are thinly disguised efforts to promote condom use. The actual content of most "abstinence plus" curricula would be alarming to most parents.
Uganda: 'Abstinence- Only' Programs Hijack AIDS Success Story. U. S.- funded “abstinence- only” programs are jeopardizing Uganda’s successful fight against HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today.
Abstinence- only programs deny young people information about any method of HIV prevention other than sexual abstinence until marriage. The 8. 0- page report, “The Less They Know, the Better: Abstinence- Only HIV/AIDS Programs in Uganda,” documents the recent removal of critical HIV/AIDS information from primary school curricula, including information about condoms, safer sex and the risks of HIV in marriage. Draft secondary- school materials state falsely that latex condoms have microscopic pores that can be permeated by HIV, and that pre- marital sex is a form of “deviance. HIV/AIDS rallies sponsored by the U.
S. government spread similar falsehoods. These abstinence- only programs leave Uganda’s children at risk of HIV,” said Jonathan Cohen, a researcher with Human Rights Watch's HIV/AIDS Program and one of the report’s authors. Abstinence messages should complement other HIV- prevention strategies, not undermine them. U. S. officials describe their strategy in Uganda as “ABC”—a popular acronym standing for “Abstinence, Be Faithful, use Condoms. Some experts credit the “ABC” strategy with helping to reduce HIV prevalence in Uganda from about 1.
However, Human Rights Watch’s new report documents how condoms are left out of the equation, especially for young people. A draft “Abstinence and Being Faithful (AB)” policy released in November 2. Uganda AIDS Commission cautions that providing information about condoms alongside abstinence can be “confusing” to youth. Teachers told Human Rights Watch that they have been instructed by U. S. contractors not to discuss condoms in schools because the new policy is “abstinence only.
President Museveni has publicly condemned condoms as inappropriate for Ugandans, leading some AIDS educators to stop talking about them. Uganda faces a nationwide condom shortage due to new government restrictions on condom imports. In late 2. 00. 4, the Health Ministry recalled batches of imported condoms, allegedly due to failed quality control tests. Instead of addressing the shortage, some ministers suggested that Ugandans adopt abstinence as a preferable HIV- prevention strategy. Uganda is gradually removing condoms from its HIV/AIDS strategy, and the consequences could be fatal,” said Tony Tate, a researcher with Human Rights Watch’s Children’s Rights Division and the report’s co- author. Delaying sex is surely a healthy choice for young Ugandans, but youth have a right to know that there are other effective means of HIV prevention.
The U. S. government has already budgeted approximately U. S. $8 million this year on abstinence- only programs in Uganda as part of President George W. Bush’s global AIDS plan. The National Youth Forum, headed by Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni, a vocal proponent of abstinence- only, has received U. S. funding under the plan. The First Lady has lashed out against groups that teach young people about condoms and called for a national “virgin census” to support her abstinence agenda.
The Virginia- based Children’s AIDS Fund, an organization with close ties to Janet Museveni, was recently approved for a major abstinence- only grant, despite having been deemed “not suitable for funding” by a technical panel of the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Abstinence- only programs are a triumph of ideology over public health,” said Cohen. Americans should demand that HIV- prevention programs worldwide stick to science. Uganda gained a reputation in the 1. HIV/AIDS and acceptance of sexually candid HIV- prevention messages. But public health experts and Ugandan AIDS organizations fear that the shift toward abstinence- only programs will reverse this success. Abstinence programs have been used since 1. United States, where they have proven in numerous independent studies to be ineffective and potentially harmful.