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Child Abuse Preventive Measures
Published in Lita Linzer Schwartz, Natalie K. Isser, Endangered Children, 2011
Lita Linzer Schwartz, Natalie K. Isser
However, another Philadelphia study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, divided 6thand 7th-graders into three groups, each of which received 8 hours of health education. “One focused on abstinence; one concentrated on condom use; and a control group addressed avoiding nonsexual diseases” (Jemmott, Jemmott, & Fong, 1998). The researchers found that after 6 months and again after 12 months, more of the abstinence group students were having sex than condom-group members, and more of them were having unprotected sex. An Institute of Medicine study found that abstinence-only sex education did not delay the onset of sexual intercourse (Hogue, 1997).
Convergences and divergences
Published in Bertha Alvarez Manninen, Jack Mulder Jr., Civil Dialogue on Abortion, 2018
Bertha Alvarez Manninen, Jack Mulder Jr.
It is insufficient to just give out contraception, however – it is important to have accurate information on how to use it effectively, and this is where comprehensive sex and reproductive health education comes into play. A 2008 study from the University of Washington found that teenagers who received such education were approximately 60% less likely to get pregnant, compared to abstinence-only education.92 A 2011 study noted that the United States “ranks first among developed nations in rates of both teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases” and 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.”93 Although the national rate for teen pregnancies has been steadily declining, the states with abstinence-only sex education had higher incidences of teen pregnancy than states with accurate and comprehensive sex education programs. And it isn’t just that teens are using contraception effectively – sex education actually aids in delaying the onset of sexual activity in teens.94 Given the effectiveness of sex education in all these areas, it is disheartening to read the United States’ policies on this issue: only 24 states and the District of Colombia require public schools to teach sex education, and only 20 states require that “if provided, sex and/or HIV education must be medically, factually or technically accurate.”95 This means that, in 30 states in the U.S., a public school may teach sex education in a way that is full of lies, scare tactics, or simply faulty medical information.
Home-Based Sexuality Education in Ghana: The Perspectives of Adolescents and Parents
Published in International Journal of Sexual Health, 2022
Jessica Osei Owusu, Joana Salifu Yendork, Joseph Osafo
This course of sexual discovery and exploration does not occur in a vacuum. Thus, these adolescents happen to use signals from their previous experiences to develop sexual scripts as a guide for future sexual behavior (Simon & Daneback, 2013). Education on sexuality, therefore, provides a benchmark for adolescents to explore their sexuality. In the literature, the terms ‘sex education’ and ‘sexuality education’ are used interchangeably, however, the two terms are different although interrelated. Sex education is structured to help adolescents gain detailed information, skills, and motivation about a broad variety of topics related to sex, to help them make better decisions (Planned Parenthood, 2020). Magoon (2010) postulates that there are three approaches to sex education, namely, abstinence-only sex education, health and safety-oriented sex education, and comprehensive sex education. Comprehensive sex education is considered the best approach as it goes beyond abstinence to include preventive strategies from contraception to prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy (Leung et al., 2019), thus allowing learners to construct their understanding of the information and material by critically engaging with personal experiences. Although there is little evidence concerning the impact of the learner-centered approach on comprehensive sex education, research by Kontula (2010) shows that there is a positive effect of sex education whenever participatory teaching techniques are employed.
A Pilot Test of the Effectiveness of an Integrated Sex Positive Education Program
Published in American Journal of Sexuality Education, 2019
Natalie M. Raymond, Ashley N. Hutchison
In addition to addressing norms and myths, developing healthier conceptions of sexuality is crucial to shifting the U.S.’s culture of sexual violence. The need for such a shift has already been recognized, for example when The World Health Organization (WHO) wrote in 2006 that sexual health “requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence” (p. 5). Sex education that incorporates sex positivity, and a more empowering, agentic model of female sexuality, which acknowledges their sexual desires may foster an overall increase in health and well-being, and facilitate preventing or reducing sexual victimization. Researchers (Fine & McClelland, 2006) have long noted that such a perspective is largely missing from traditional sex education. For example, though abstinence only sex education has received the lion’s share of federal funding in recent decades (Fine & McClelland, 2006), such programs continue to demonstrate their ineffectiveness (Carr & Packham, 2017; Russell, 2005). Negative impacts include rates of teenage pregnancy that are higher than any other developed nation, continued high rates of STIs, and notably worse health consequences for nonheterosexual adolescents. Abstinence only sex education traditionally excludes nonheterosexual experiences entirely, increasing the risk of social isolation, psychological distress, and unpreparedness for sexual relationships among LGBT + students (Fisher, 2009).
The Role of Adolescent Sex Education in Sexual Satisfaction among LGB+ and Heterosexual Young Adults
Published in American Journal of Sexuality Education, 2020
Reina Evans, Laura Widman, Katherine Goldey
When it comes to school-based sex education, youth in the United States may receive either abstinence-only sex education or comprehensive sex education (Chin et al., 2012; Kirby & Laris, 2009). Abstinence-only sex education typically teaches that abstaining from sexual behaviors before marriage is the only viable option and that non-marital sexual activity will have negative social, psychological, and physical effects (Alford, 2001). Comprehensive sex education typically teaches that abstinence is the safest sexual decision, but it also provides youth with medically accurate information about human sexuality, contraception, and STIs (Breuner et al., 2016). Comprehensive sex education may also cover topics such as masturbation, reproductive rights, and sexual orientation (Alford, 2001; Breuner et al., 2016). A nationwide study in 2014 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2015) found that 72% of high schools in the United States taught students about preventing pregnancy, around 60% covered the effectiveness of contraception, and only 35% taught students how to use a condom. Comprehensive coverage of sexuality topics was even more rare in middle schools across the United States, with 38% of middle schools teaching about preventing pregnancy, 26% about contraception, and only 10% about how to use a condom (CDC, 2015). This is likely a reflection of insufficient or absent sex education policy. While 39 states require some form of sexual health education (or HIV-specific education), only 17 states require that this education is medically accurate. In addition, only 22 states require sex education or HIV-education to include information about condoms/contraception (Guttmacher Institute, 2019).