Teen pregnancy has declined due to stagnating sexual activity rates and increases in contraceptive use. Still, between 800,000 and 900,000 adolescents become pregnant each year in America. Many who become parents during adolescence are unable to achieve positive health, economic, and social well-being outcomes, particularly around educational…

In 2011, the US state of Mississippi mandated its school districts to adopt a sexuality education curriculum. Approximately half of districts chose a more comprehensive abstinence-plus curriculum over an abstinence-only curriculum. To understand this outcome, we conducted a logistic regression analysis of school district curriculum choice among…

We investigate possible explanations for the large decline in U.S. teen childbearing that occurred in the twenty years following the 1991 peak. Our review of previous evidence and the results of new analyses presented here leads to the following main set of observations. First, the observed decline in teen childbearing is even more surprising…

This meta-analysis of 14 studies examines the relationship between abstinence-only programs and the sexual behavior and--attitudes of urban students from middle school to early in college. The results indicate a significant relationship between abstinence-only programs and the outcomes examined. Abstinence-only programs, as a whole, were…

The purpose of this article was to determine opinions on the use of abstinence only versus comprehensive sex education by registered voters in South Carolina. A cross-sectional, random-digit dial sample was utilized. Approximately 81% of respondents indicated support for sex education that emphasizes abstinence but also teaches about the benefits…

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore desired ways to deliver comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and topics, among secondary school students in a low-resource setting in Western Kenya. One school (n = 440) has received 8-9-h CSE intervention, while the other school (n = 496) served as a control. After one-year follow-up the…

The purpose of this study was to use qualitative evaluation techniques to explore the perceptions of students enrolled in undergraduate human sexuality classes regarding their expectations for the course as well as outcomes. One hundred forty-eight students were surveyed at the beginning and again at the end of the semester long course. While…

Like abortion, contraception, and guns, the debate over sex education policy in the United States is divisive and seems intractable. While ample policy research and analysis have focused on the former issues, less attention has been paid to the latter. This study begins to fill this gap through a thematic analysis of sixteen interviews conducted…

Alcohol use among college students has maintained its place as a major issue in American higher education since its inception. Although dangerous drinking has always proliferated among college students, institutions have only provided alcohol and other drug (AOD) education and interventions encouraging students to adapt less harmful habits for a…

Authors examined self-efficacy to motivate abstinent behavior (among youth) in a sample of instructors teaching abstinence-only-until-marriage education in Texas (N = 104). Sixty-one percent of the sample had been trained/certified to teach abstinence education. Instructors (mostly female and White) were more confident motivating students to…

In this article, the author critiques two current behavioral trends in society among the youth regarding sexuality, namely the abstinence-only viewpoint and hooking-up. He comments that abstinence-only sex education classes seem to focus on and amplify the very dangers that informed students know they can minimize. Moreover, if protecting students…

There are many assumptions made about the beliefs behind abstinence-only until marriage (AOUM) sex education, yet comparatively little research examining the views of abstinence education providers. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 21 abstinence grantees throughout New York State, I examine how individuals working in abstinence organizations…

As discourse in sexual education classes across the USA in 1996 began to change, media outlets became important sources of education for teenage girls. Unaffected directly by government policy, one of the most popular teenage girls' magazines, "Seventeen," provided a plethora of information on sex. Several scholars have examined…

Although President Bush favors continuous testing, headlines reflect an intense, growing antitesting sentiment. One standard does not fit all, current systems are malfunctioning, and kids are short-changed. A recent report says abstinence-only sex education is ineffective; high teen birth rates underline the need for comprehensive approaches. (MLH)

For over a decade, battles have raged between conservative Abstinence Only Until Marriage (AOUM) sexuality education advocates and liberal Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) advocates. While these battles have focused on the inclusion of health information about contraception and whether or not a curriculum must advocate abstinence as the…