Busted: Abstinence-Only “Education” does not work.

The decision of when, how, why, under what conditions, and with whom is a personal decision. Too bad the antichoice busy-bodies can’t leave that be. Rather than allow students to be instructed on proper ways to protect themselves and their partners when and if they become sexually active, the antis would prefer to leave young people in the dark.

Guess what world, kids grow up. And when they do, will they be prepared? Isn’t that was youth education is for?

Research

The Cochrane Collaboration, Cochrane Reviews, Abstinence-only programs for HIV infection prevention in high-income countries, Underhill K, Operario D, Montgomery P, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. ²Yale Law School, New Haven, CT, USA. ³The Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, ochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD005421. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005421.pub2.

Evidence does not indicate that abstinence-only interventions effectively decrease or exacerbate HIV risk among participants in high-income countries; trials suggest that the programs are ineffective, but generalizability may be limited to US youth. Should funding continue, additional resources could support rigorous evaluations with behavioral or biological outcomes. More trials comparing abstinence-only and abstinence-plus interventions are needed.

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Impacts of Four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Program, Christopher Trenholm Barbara Devaney Ken Fortson Lisa Quay Justin Wheeler Melissa Clark, April 2007

As with the four programs in this study, most Title V, Section 510 abstinence education programs have been implemented in upper elementary and middle schools.  In addition, most Title V, Section 510 programs are completed before youth enter high school, when rates of sexual activity increase and many teens are either contemplating or having sex.  Findings from this study provide no evidence that abstinence programs implemented in upper elementary and middle schools are effective at reducing the rate of teen sexual activity several years later.  However, the findings provide no information on the effects programs might have if they were implemented for high  school youth or began at earlier ages but served youth through high school.