Sex education classes that focus on encouraging children to remain abstinent can persuade a significant proportion to delay sexual activity, according to new US research.
The research [1], published in the Archives of Paediatric & Adolescent Medicine, found that only about a third of sixth- and seventh-graders (12 and 13 years) who completed an abstinence-focused program started having sex within the next two years.
Nearly half of the students who attended other classes, including ones that combined information about abstinence and contraception, became sexually active.
The findings come after the Obama administration decided to cut the funding for abstinence programmes that had been funded under President George W Bush. After falling for more than a decade, the numbers of births, pregnancies and STDs among U.S. teens have begun increasing.
The Washington Post reports that the study could have major implications for U.S. efforts to protect young people against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases,
The findings are the first clear evidence that an abstinence program could work. “I think we’ve written off abstinence-only education without looking closely at the nature of the evidence,” said John B. Jemmott III, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who led the federally funded study. “Our study shows this could be one approach that could be used.”
The Obama administration eliminated more than $170 million in annual federal funding targeted at abstinence programs after a series of reports concluded that the approach was ineffective. Instead, the White House is launching a $114 million pregnancy prevention initiative that will fund only programs that have been shown scientifically to work – a program the administration on Monday proposed expanding to $183 million.
“This new study is game-changing,” said Sarah Brown, who leads the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “For the first time, there is strong evidence that an abstinence-only intervention can help very young teens delay sex.”
The study is the first to evaluate an abstinence program using a carefully designed approach comparing it with several alternative strategies and following subjects for an extended period of time, considered the kind of study that produces the highest level of scientific evidence.
Long-time critics of the approach praised the study, saying it provides strong evidence that such programs can work and might merit taxpayer support.
“One of the things that is exciting about this study is that it says we have a new tool to add to our repertoire,” said Monica Rodriguez, vice president for education and training at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.
Based on the findings, Obama administration officials said programs like the one evaluated in the study could be eligible for federal funding.
Several critics of an abstinence-only approach said that the curriculum tested was unrepresentative of most abstinence programs, as it did not take a moralistic tone, as many abstinence programs do.
Most notably, the sessions encouraged children to delay sex until they are ready, not necessarily until married; did not portray sex outside marriage as never appropriate; and did not disparage condoms.
But abstinence supporters disputed that, saying that the new program is equivalent to many other well-designed abstinence curricula that are thorough, tailor their messages to students’ ages and provide detailed information.