Teenagers enrolled in abstinence-only education programs are about as likely to have abstained from sex as are teens in a control group, according to a report evaluating federal abstinence education programs.
The study, which was requested by Congress under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, was conducted by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services. The study is based on the results of a survey of more than 2,000 teens who were assigned to an abstinence-education program or a control group. The sample included four abstinence education programs that focus on teaching abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage.
Surveys from the teens involved in the study revealed that about 49% remained abstinent always regardless of whether they were enrolled in a program, and 56% of teens in a program were abstinent in the last 12 months, compared with 55% of teens in the control group.
The researchers found similar rates between the two groups when they asked about sex using a condom, age at first intercourse, and number of sexual partners.
One persistent criticism of abstinence-only education programs is that they contain medically inaccurate information. However, another report, also commissioned by the Health and Human Services department, found that most comprehensive sex education programs also include some inaccurate statements.
Of nine comprehensive sex education programs reviewed, six contained medically inaccurate statements, according to the report. For example, three programs promoted use of the spermicide nonoxynol-9, but the report states that recent research has shown that the spermicide is ineffective against sexually transmitted diseases and could increase the risk of transmission.
For the most part, the programs were medically accurate but tended to minimize condom failure rates, the report said. The report was requested in 2005 by former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). The assessment was conducted by the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research and reviewed by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health.
The results of the Mathematica study appear to show that abstinence-only education doesn't live up to its promise, said Dr. David S. Rosen, professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Teaching abstinence is appropriate, but teaching it exclusively doesn't seem to be effective based on the available literature.
He advises physicians to discuss sex with their adolescent patients in the context of preventive health visits, and to bring it up in the context of a confidential relationship, not with the parents in the room.