News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Last week's announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that one in four American teens has a sexually transmitted disease has ignited more fury in the debate on sex education in public schools. Now, a new study from the University of Washington (UW) reveals that students who receive comprehensive sex education that includes information on condoms and birth control are half as likely to become teen parents as those who participate in abstinence-only programs.

UW analyzed the education of 1,719 heterosexual teens ages 15 to 19 and found that 67% had comprehensive sex education, 24% had abstinence-only, and 9% had no sex education. The ones in the comprehensive program were 50% less likely to report pregnancy than those in abstinence-only group.

"We're building more and more evidence that abstinence-only education isn't having much effect," said Pamela Kohler, the lead author of the study.

Congress has spent more than $1.5 billion over the past decade on Title V Abstinence Education, and yet American teens have higher rates of pregnancy, abortion, and STDs than those in other developed countries.

Labels: education, sex, pregnancy

Posted By: Aspen Education Group