At the risk of starting contraversy, I read this today and thought it was interesting...

'Virginity pledges' ineffective, study finds
By Rob Stein
THE WASHINGTON POST

Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.

The new analysis of data from a large federal survey found that more than half of youths became sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they had taken a "virginity pledge," but that the percentage who took precautions against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases was 10 points lower for pledgers than for non-pledgers.

"Taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior," said Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose report appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. "But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking."

The study is the latest in a series that have raised questions about programs that focus on encouraging abstinence until marriage, including those that specifically ask students to publicly declare their intention to remain virgins. The new analysis, however, goes beyond earlier analyses by focusing on teens who had similar values about sex and other issues before they took a virginity pledge.

"Previous studies would compare a mixture of apples and oranges," Rosenbaum said. "I tried to pull out the apples and compare only the apples to other apples."

The findings are reigniting the debate about the effectiveness of abstinence-focused sexual education just as Congress and the new Obama administration are about to reconsider the more than $176 million in annual funding for such programs.

"This study again raises the issue of why the federal government is continuing to invest in abstinence-only programs," said Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "What have we gained if we only encourage young people to delay sex until they are older, but then when they do become sexually active - and most do well before marriage - they don't protect themselves or their partners?"

James Wagoner of the advocacy group Advocates for Youth agreed: "The Democratic Congress needs to get its head out of the sand and get real about sex education in America."

Proponents of such programs, however, dismissed the study as flawed and argued that programs that focus on abstinence go much further than simply asking youths to make a one-time promise to remain virgins.

"It is remarkable that an author who employs rigorous research methodology would then compromise those standards by making wild, ideologically tainted and inaccurate analysis regarding the content of abstinence education programs," said Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association.

Rosenbaum analyzed data collected by the federal government's National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which gathered detailed information from a representative sample of about 11,000 students in grades seven through 12 in 1995, 1996 and 2001.

Although researchers have analyzed data from that survey before to examine abstinence education programs, the new study is the first to use a more stringent method to account for other factors that could influence the teens' behavior, such as their attitudes about sex before they took the pledge.

Rosenbaum focused on about 3,400 students who had not had sex or taken a virginity pledge in 1995. She compared 289 students who were 17 years old on average in 1996, when they took a virginity pledge, with 645 who did not take a pledge but were otherwise similar. She based that judgment on about 100 variables, including their attitudes and their parents' attitudes about sex and their perception of their friends' attitudes about sex and birth control.

"This study came about because somebody who decides to take a virginity pledge tends to be different from the average American teen-ager. The pledgers tend to be more religious. They tend to be more conservative. They tend to be less positive about sex. There are some striking differences," Rosenbaum said. "So comparing pledgers to all non-pledgers doesn't make a lot of sense."

By 2001, Rosenbaum found, 82 percent of those who had taken a pledge had retracted their promises, and there was no significant difference in the proportion of students in both groups who had engaged in any type of sexual activity, including giving or receiving oral sex, vaginal intercourse, the age at which they first had sex, or their number of sexual partners. More than half of both groups had engaged in various types of sexual activity, had an average of about three sexual partners and had had sex for the first time by age 21 even if they were unmarried.

"It seems that pledgers aren't really internalizing the pledge," Rosenbaum said. "Participating in a program doesn't appear to be motivating them to change their behavior. It seems like abstinence has to come from an individual conviction rather than participating in a program."

While there was no difference in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases in the two groups, the percentage of students who reported condom use was about 10 points lower for those who had taken the pledge, and they were about 6 percentage points less likely to use any form of contraception. For example, about 24 percent of those who had taken a pledge said they always used a condom, compared with about 34 percent of those who had not.

Rosenbaum attributed the difference to what youths learn about condoms in abstinence-focused programs.

"There's been a lot of work that has found that teen-agers who take part in abstinence-only education have more negative views about condoms," she said. "They tend not to give accurate information about condoms and birth control."

But Huber disputed that charge.

"Abstinence education programs provide accurate information on the level of protection offered through the typical use of condoms and contraception," she said. "Students understand that while condoms may reduce the risk of infection and/or pregnancy, they do not remove the risk."

I IMAGINE, THINKING ABOUT THIS CASE, THAT THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY WILL NOT HAVE SEX, SO THEY DON'T BUY CONDOMS. BECAUSE, LIKE, BUYING CONDOMS IS FOR NAUGHTY PEOPLE! AND SUPPOSE THEIR VICAR OR ONE OF THE OLD LADIES FROM CHURCH HAPPENS TO BE IN THE CHEMIST WHEN THEY ARE BUYING THEM! WHEREAS OTHER TEENS THINK THEY WILL HAVE SEX AND THEY DON'T SEE IT AS BAD, SO THEY BUY CONDOMS FOR WHEN IT HAPPENS. THEY PREPARE MORE. WHEREAS THE RELIGIOUS TEENS TELL THEMSELVES THEY WILL NOT HAVE SEX, SO OF COURSE THEY DON'T BUY CONDOMS, BUT THEN THEY MEET SOMEONE AND THEIR SEXUAL FEELINGS ARE SUDDENLY RELEASED AND THEY ACT IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT. SO IT IS NOT PREMEDITATED SEX. IT'S SPUR OF THE MOMENT SEX. AND ONCE THEY'VE HAD IT, THEN THEY WILL HAVE IT AGAIN, BECAUSE THEY NO LONGER SEE IT IN TERMS OF KEEPING THEIR VIRGINITY INTACT. TOO LATE FOR THAT, YO!

I read this a few weeks ago. I think it was pretty obvious. It's sad though that because of it they don't tend to be as clued up as other kids are about safe sex.

"Abstinence education programs provide accurate information on the level of protection offered through the typical use of condoms and contraception," she said. "Students understand that while condoms may reduce the risk of infection and/or pregnancy, they do not remove the risk."
Granted its been more then 10 yrs since I was in HS but that wasnt the case at my school. Sex = pain and illness. But not what kind or how to safely have sex.

texas has the right idea when it comes to abstinence educ. IF you're going to do it - here's how to protect yourself BUT here are the benefits to waiting.

I agree. The sex education we got at school was all about contraception, and there was very little about waiting. II think they should be taught about both. I think waiting should be encouraged, but that kids need to be informed of how to be safe, should they decide to have sex.

yeah. my high school taught us this- look, this is how you ovulate. no matter what you try to use, you can still get pregnant easily. so just don't do it. oh, and just to make sure, here's some pictures of warts that will surely make you never want to touch anyone, ever.
LOL.

We were lucky the lady who taught us was open to questions-through questions from the girls, she did talk about birth control methods. however, if no one had asked "where can I get the pill?" or "what is the shot?, how does that work?" I doubt she would have offered the information to us very freely.
We did have a teen mother talk to us, though.
Mainly it was all about how a pregnancy would ruin your life, so don't have sex until you're married.
the only talk about condoms was how often they fail.

I completely agree. Whilst my sex education is a distant blur (I remember giggling about condoms and that's it), I know we weren't taught about waiting. And sooo many of my peer group fell pregnant before 18!

INTERESTING, YO! I THINK A LOT OF TEENS WITH VERY RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS DON'T GET TAUGHT ABOUT SAFE SEX, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT TAUGHT ABOUT SEX AT ALL. I REMEMBER A CLIENT WHO HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP IN A CONVENT SCHOOL TOLD ME THAT SO MANY OF THE GIRLS IN THE SCHOOL GOT PREGGERS WHEN THEY WERE TEENS, BECAUSE THEY DISCOVERED BOYS BUT ACTUALLY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SEX (BECAUSE THE NUNS DIDN'T TEACH SUCH THINGS!). THEY JUST DID WHAT CAME NATURALLY, NOT REALISING IT WAS CALLED SEXUAL INTERCOURSE AND THAT IT COULD CAUSE PREGNANCY!

exactly, had it been left up to my religous HS, I wouldnt of ever had sex ed other then what my english teacher told us. - which is a source of laughter at reunions

We have fake willies and foo's in my sex education!

47% of failed virginity pledges are due to me.

Lol.

Nice!

The only reason so many people take the pledge is because daddy tells them to when they still think girls/boys smell.

or mommy and daddy try to bribe them into it.. Such as new car, jewelry etc which is beyond sad and pathetic

OR BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GET A SHAG, SO THEY NEED AN EXCUSE FOR THEIR SINGLENESS WHICH MAKES IT LOOK LIKE IT'S TOTALLY DELIBERATE AND INDEED VIRTUOUS! I'VE SEEN THIS MANY A TIME, YO - NOT AN ACTUAL PLEDGE, BUT CHRISTIANS WHO VIRTUOUSLY DECLARE THAT DATING IS EVIL (BECAUSE THEY READ 'KISS DATING GOODBYE') AND THAT THEY WILL TOTALLY NEVER DATE OR KISS, LET ALONE HAVE SEX, BEFORE MARRIAGE. IT ALL TOTALLY FALLS APART ONCE THEY FIND SOMEONE WHO FANCIES THEM AND WHO THEY FANCY BACK!

I think its parents responsibility to teach their kids about sex. Schools can only do so much in the end. Giving out information and help is as good as we got.
I was having intercourse at 16, smoking drugs, not out of anger or depression but just for fun, having a joint with my mates, enjoying sex with someone I liked being with. Point is I always had my morals and sense of responsibility my parents taught me to back me up. I mean I know drugs and underage drinking arent a responsible thing to do, but I didnt base my life around it. I always knew when too much was too much, always knew how to treat people (girls in this case I guess) right.

So school helped because I always knew what the risks were with multiple partners and always used protection, knew what drugs to stay away from coz I knew how they would mess you up.
Then again this is just me, I know theres a whole world of bullshit happening, how come religion always comes into these topics man, I 'dislike' it.

I think I heard on the news that schools were discussing wether to start handing out condoms at schools. Bit of a double edged sword if you ask me.

Most schools and colleges offer free contraception in the UK, only condoms, femidoms and dams though, they don't give out the pill, injection or anything like that. The nurses that give them out offer advice as well so if you think you may be pregnant she can give you a pregnancy test and then help you with what to do next from finding a way to tell the father and your parents, to abortion and adoption. They can arrange for you to get tested for STD's too as that is something quite alot of people don't know how to do, I must be honest I don't even know where our GUM clinic is.

seriously, they believed that if the teens took a pledge to stay abstinent they would oblige by it? any kid could look their parents in the face & say "mom, dad, i would never have sex until i get married". just because they say it doesn't make it true. so how is a pledge any different? honestly, i think the pledge is a wasted effort. in the end it is up to the teen whether or not they are going to have premarital sex.

as far as schools go on informing students about premartial sex and the consequences it can bring. i go to a catholic high school & the topic comes up in almost every class. but NEVER have the teachers told us not to have it BUT how to be safe in doing so. i mean sure, they say why we shouldn't, & how God made it souly for reproduction but it is ok to participate in it for pleasure to as long as you are in a marriage because pregnacy could occur & when your married your more mature, you have have better means to the materialistic things your child will need and so on. it isn't a hushed subject & i think they go approach the topic the right way. they leave the decision up to us & give us both sides of it, how to be safe & the religious side..why to wait. i agree with Ash though, it is a bit of a double edge sword to hand out condoms. it really isn't that hard to go to the store and buy them yourself. it certainly is less embarassing than to go to student services for one.

That's interesting, given that the Catholic church does not condone the use of ANY form of birth control except Natural Family Planning.

The pope says yes to condoms as long as you're married.

Are you sure? I thought catholics were against any birth control at any time. Hence the big families. ;D

He said that due to the HIV situation in Africa that Catholics are allowed to used condoms, obviously whether they choose to use it or not is there decision, but there was a tribe recently who were wearing the condoms packets around their necks to ward of HIV, looks like a little sex ed is needed for them!

Hmm. The Catechism hasn't changed... Do you have a source for that?

It was all over the news so I'll have a look for you.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1979145,00.html