New Study Proves Abstinence Only Education is Failing

A new study that had been ordered by Congress finds that students who had attended sexual abstinence classes are just as likely to have sex than those who did not attend such classes.

The study shows, furthermore, that the students who attended one out of the four abstinence classes that were reviewed did not have less sexual partners on average, either. The median age for first sexual encounter remained at 14.9 years, as reported by Mathematica Policy Research Inc.

For the study, students were reviewed from four abstinence programs, as well as students from the same communities who had not participated in the classes as a control group. Students from both large cities such as Milwaukee and Miami were reviewed as well as from rural areas including Powhatan, Virginia, and Clarksdale, Mississippi. This study began when the children were between eleven and twelve years of age in the year of 1999. They were in the program for one to three years. The follow up survey to conclude results was taken in late 2005 and early 2006. The students were now an average of 16.5 years of age. Half of the students who had been enrolled in the classes had remained abstinent. However, so did half of the students from the control group.

Currently, the government spends a whopping $176 million per year on the abstinence classes. This summer, the block grant program known as Title V is up for renewal through congress. The government, on the federal level, has authorized an annual expenditure of $50 million on the program, and then the individual states kick in additional money, to the tune of $3 for every $4. Eight states have rejected and refuse participation in sexual abstinence only programs.

Supporters of the programs argue that they haven't had adequate time for their efforts to be effective. Harry Wilson, the commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families says "This report confirms that these interventions are not like vaccines. You can't expect one dose in middle school, or a small dose, to be protective all throughout the youth's high school career."

William Smith, vice president for public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, an organization that supports comprehensive sex education for students argues, "Members of Congress need to listen to what the evidence tells us... This report should give a clear signal to members of Congress that the program should be changed to support programs that work, or it should end when it expires at the end of June."

The four programs that were studied each differed from each other. One was a voluntary after school program while the other three took place during school hours and were mandatory. Two of the classes had daily attendance throughout the school year. Each offered over 50 hours of classes.

Sources: Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070414/ap_on_he_me/abstinence_study;_ylt=Aj64IdYABSam0ktc4CUys6rMWM0F