Today’s teens, more than ever, are being confronted with sexually charged media messages and peer pressure. The Guttmacher Institute’s study in January 2010 found each year almost 750,000 women aged 15–19 become pregnant, and, sadly, one-third of these teen pregnancies end in abortion. However, the study also suggests that teens are waiting longer to have sex than they did in the past. Is this sex restraint epidemic due largely to abstinence programs active in U.S. high schools?
Rasmussen Reports finds that 50% of American adults believe abstinence-only education programs are at least somewhat effective in preventing teen pregnancy, but that finding includes just 15% who say they are very effective. Seventy-six percent of Americans believe elements of pop culture such as movies and television shows encourage sexual activity among young people.
According to the Washington Post, “sex education classes that focus on encouraging children to remain abstinent can persuade a significant proportion to delay sexual activity." In a landmark study conducted by the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 662 students, between the ages of 11 and 13, were given the option to attend five diverse sex education classes. Researchers discovered that 33.5 percent of the students who went through classes that focused on abstinence started having sex in the next two years; whereas, 48.5 percent of students who attended other classes, including details on contraception, became sexually active.
While teaching abstinence to teens in a classroom situation has proven successful according to this study, it still remains essential for parents to educate their children at home. Abstinence America notes, “The majority of young people (88%) say it would be much easier for teens to postpone sexual activity and avoid teen pregnancy if they were able to have more open, honest conversations about these topics with parents.” Rasmussen Reports finds that 80% of Americans say it is the responsibility of parents to teach their children about sex. Only 11% say schools should explain sex to children.
Who do you think is responsible for teaching American teens about sex: the parents or the schools?
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Parents!!!!!!
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