2008-12-29 Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds

2008-12-29 Rob Stein Washington Post \abstinence-based education\abstinence pledge\2008 Rosenbaum abstinence study\teen pregnancy\National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR2008122801588.html Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds  Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.

The new analysis of data from a large federal survey found that more than half of youths became sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they had taken a "virginity pledge," but that the percentage who took precautions against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases was 10 points lower for pledgers than for non-pledgers.

"Taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior," said Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose report appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. "But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking."

The study is the latest in a series that have raised questions about programs that focus on encouraging abstinence until marriage, including those that specifically ask students to publicly declare their intention to remain virgins. ...

"This study again raises the issue of why the federal government is continuing to invest in abstinence-only programs," said Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "What have we gained if we only encourage young people to delay sex until they are older, but then when they do become sexually active -- and most do well before marriage -- they don't protect themselves or their partners?" The article also quotes some highly questionable criticisms of the study and its conclusions.

&ldquo;Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.&rdquo;   