Abstinence-only education and teen pregnancy rates: why we need comprehensive sex education in the U.S.

Kathrin F Stanger-Hall,David W Hall

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024658

Abstract

The United States ranks first among developed nations in rates of both teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In an effort to reduce these rates, the U.S. government has funded abstinence-only sex education programs for more than a decade. However, a public controversy remains over whether this investment has been successful and whether these programs should be continued. Using the most recent national data (2005) from all U.S. states with information on sex education laws or policies (N = 48), we show that increasing emphasis on abstinence education is positively correlated with teenage pregnancy and birth rates. This trend remains significant after accounting for socioeconomic status, teen educational attainment, ethnic composition of the teen population, and availability of Medicaid waivers for family planning services in each state. These data show clearly that abstinence-only education as a state policy is ineffective in preventing teenage pregnancy and may actually be contributing to the high teenage pregnancy rates in the U.S. In alignment with the new evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative and the Precaution Adoption Process Model advocated by the National Institutes of Health, we propose the integration of comprehensive sex and STD education into the biology curriculum in middle and high school science classes and a parallel social studies curriculum that addresses risk-aversion behaviors and planning for the future.

Highlights

The appropriate type of sex education that should be taught in U.S public schools continues to be a major topic of debate, which is motivated by the high teen pregnancy and birth rates in the U.S, compared to other developed countries [1,2,3,4] (Table 1)
This view has been supported by the US government, which promotes abstinence-only initiatives through the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA), CommunityBased Abstinence Education (CBAE) and Title V, Section 510 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, among others [5]
A multivariate analysis of teen pregnancy and birth rates identified the level of abstinence education as a significant influence on teen pregnancy and birth rates across states

Summary

Introduction

The appropriate type of sex education that should be taught in U.S public schools continues to be a major topic of debate, which is motivated by the high teen pregnancy and birth rates in the U.S, compared to other developed countries [1,2,3,4] (Table 1). Much of this debate has centered on whether abstinence-only versus comprehensive sex education should be taught in public schools. The central message of these programs is to delay sexual activity until marriage, and under the federal funding regulations most of these programs cannot include information about contraception or safer-sex practices [5,7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion