Does abstinence-only sex education work? The debate heats up

Posted on March 8th, 2010

Archived in Current edition, Curriculum, Education, Public schools, Sex education, Writing

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Do sex education programs that emphasize abstinence really work? The issue is on the boil thanks to rising teen pregnancy rates and the high profile of Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol, herself an unwed teenage mother. Now a pair of new studies reveals a complex answer to a flashpoint debate in the culture wars.

BlackboardIn one study of middle school students, research has shown for the first time that abstinence-only sex education programs can help delay sexual activity. The study followed 662 black students in urban middle schools and found that among those who participated in a weekend abstinence-only class, a third had sex within 24 months. Half had sex after general health classes or classes teaching safe sex only, while 42 percent had sex after comprehensive sex education classes involving both abstinence and safe sex. The research appeared this month in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

At about the same time, a separate study revealed that after more than a decade of declining rates, the pregnancy rate among girls ages 15 to 19 rose 3 percent between 2005 and 2006. The teen abortion rate also crept up for the first time in more than a decade between these same two years, rising 1 percent, according to the study by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit research group. Some experts attributed the rise to $150 million in federal funding for sex education programs emphasizing abstinence only.

The findings come as the Obama administration is cutting this federal funding for abstinence-only programs and starting a pregnancy-prevention initiative that will fund programs based on whether scientific studies have shown they are effective.

Religious and moral belief informs much of the debate over how best to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. This edition of ReligionLink aims to lay out the basics for journalists.

What’s new

The study appearing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has intensified the debate over abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education programs.

The study by the Guttmacher Institute found that while teen pregnancy rates for whites remain far lower than those for blacks and Hispanics, rates increased for all three groups.

The Obama administration is cutting funding for abstinence-only sex education programs, replacing it with funding for programs based on whether scientific studies have shown they are effective.

With federal funding diminished for abstinence-only programs, many religious groups are taking up the cause.

The Twilight book series, now a teen sensation since the series’ second movie released last fall, emphasizes abstinence, although this love story involves a vampire who must abstain from sex with his human sweetheart for her own preservation.

Bristol Palin is perhaps America’s most famous teen mom. She became a “teen-abstinence ambassador” last year for the Candie’s Foundation, and she appeared in a People magazine cover story in which she confided that a teen mom’s job is hard work.

Resources

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a page on its Web site on sexual health.
  • The Guttmacher Institute offers an array of resources on adolescents, contraception, pregnancy and sex and relationships. This report lists state policies on sex education.
  • The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States post pages on their sites here and here summarizing the Obama administration’s new plans for sex education.
  • The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy compiles on its Web site national and state data. State profiles are here. More resources are here.
  • The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States lists national and state policy updates by year and month. Among its fact sheets are sheets on what the research says about abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education. State profiles are here.
  • Teen-Aid’s Web site offers state profiles.
  • Read a history of abstinence-only sex education and government funding from the National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education.
  • Search the Web site of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life for articles on abstinence and sex education.

Religious

  • The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention provides a page on its Web site on abstinence.
  • The United Methodist Church offers a page on its Web site on human sexuality.
  • Religioustolerance.org offers a page on human sexuality.

Articles

National sources


Regional sourcesFor abstinence-only education

  • The Abstinence Educators’ Network is a resource for abstinence educators at the junior high and high school levels. Contact 513-398-9801.
  • LeAnna Benn is national director of Teen-Aid, a nonprofit organization started in 1981 to try to reduce teen pregnancies. The group, based in Spokane, Wash., believes the best method is abstinence education. Its Web site lists laws and statistics pertaining to sexuality, education and government funding for all 50 states. Contact 509-482-2868.
  • Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney Jr., an obstetrician/gynecologist, is founder and chairman of the nonprofit Medical Institute for Sexual Health, which worked on pro-abstinence programs with the Bush administration and faith-based groups. Contact 512-328-6268.
  • The National Abstinence Education Association offers research and more at its Web site. Contact 202-248-5420. Valerie Huber is executive director.
  • Shepherd Smith is president and founder of the nonprofit Institute for Youth Development, which promotes a risk avoidance message that includes sexual abstinence. Contact 703-433-1640.
  • Leslee Unruh is founder and president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, based in Sioux Falls, S.D. Contact 605-335-3643.

Religious

  • Suzanne Bowdey is senior writer and editor for the Family Research Council.  Her previous jobs have included serving as communications director for the Best Friends Foundation, an inner-city abstinence program. Contact 202-393-2100.
  • Andrea Lafferty is executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition. Contact 202-547-8570.
  • Beverly LaHaye is founder and chairwoman of Concerned Women for America, which posts a page on its Web site supporting abstinence-only education. Contact 202-488-7000.
  • Dr. David Stevens is chief executive officer of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the nation’s largest faith-based organization of doctors. It is based in Bristol, Tenn. Contact 423-844-1000.
  • True Love Waits is a ministry of LifeWay Christian Resources, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. It is an international campaign to keep teens and college students abstinent until marriage. Since its inception in 1993, more than a million teens have signed covenant cards promising to be abstinent until marriage. Contact 1-800-LUV-WAIT.
  • Susan E. Wills is assistant director for education and outreach in the pro-life office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which promotes abstinence-only education. Contact 202-541-3070.

For comprehensive sex education

Religious

  • The Black Church Initiative of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice helps African-American clergy and congregations address teen sexuality issues. It sponsors the National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality; Keeping It Real, a dialogue model; and Breaking the Silence, a curriculum for local congregations. Contact 202-628-7700, bciinfo@rcrc.org.
  • The Central Conference of American Rabbis passed a resolution in 2001 calling for comprehensive sex education and rejecting government funds for abstinence-only programs. The group represents Reform Judaism rabbis. Contact 212-972-3636.
  • The Rev. Debra W. Haffner, a Unitarian Universalist minister with a master’s in public health, is director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing, which advocates for comprehensive sex education in faith communities and society. It is based in Norwalk, Conn. Contact 203-840-1148.
  • The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice was formed in 1973 to safeguard the right to abortion. Its mission has expanded to include comprehensive sex education. It is an alliance of 40 national faith organizations and more than two dozen state affiliates. Its programs include Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom. Contact president and CEO the Rev. Carlton W. Veazey in Washington, D.C., 202-628-7700, or director of communications Marjorie Signer, 202-628-7700 ext. 12, msigner@rcrc.org.
  • The United Methodist Church has faith-based curricula that use a comprehensive approach to sex education. Contact MaryJane Pierce Norton at the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church in Nashville at 615-340-7170, mnorton@gbod.org.
  • The Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ collaborated on a sexuality curriculum called Our Whole Lives for six age groups from kindergarten through adults. Contact 617-742-2100.

Individuals

Government and academia

  • Dr. John B. Jemmott III is the University of Pennsylvania professor who led the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine study. He says it’s now possible to assert that abstinence-only education can be effective, although the journal published an editorial with the study cautioning that public policy should not be based on the results of a single study alone. In a Feb. 16, 2010, article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jemmott also cautioned against using the results of his study to score easy political points. Contact 215-898-9400.
  • Stan Koutstaal is director of the Health and Human Services abstinence-education division. Contact 202-205-8102, skoutstaal@acf.hhs.gov.
  • Daniel Schneider is acting assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and founder of the National Fatherhood Initiative. Contact 202-401-5180, daniel.schneider@acf.hss.gov.
  • Stephanie Ventura heads the reproductive statistics branch of the National Center for Health Statistics.  Contact 301-458-4547, sventura@cdc.gov.

For abstinence-only education

For comprehensive sex education

  • Patricia Donovan is vice president for public education for the Guttmacher Institute,  a proponent of comprehensive sex education. Contact Rebecca Wind, 212-248-1953, rwind@guttmacher.org.
  • Tina Hoff is vice president of Entertainment Media Partnerships for the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent organization that researches health care issues and policies. With the Entertainment Media Partnerships, the foundation partners with media organizations to develop public education campaigns on a variety of health issues, especially reaching young people with information about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Contact 650-854-9400, thoff@kff.org.
  • Joseph DiNorcia Jr. is president and chief executive officer of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. Contact Martha Kempner, SIECUS’ vice president for information and communications, 212-819-9770 ext. 324, mkempner@siecus.org.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

  • Janice Irvine is a sociology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the author of Talk About Sex: The Battles Over Sex Education in the United States. Contact 413-545-2926, irvine@soc.umass.edu.
  • Nancy Faust Sizer is an adjunct lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She co-wrote The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract. Contact 617-495-9766, nsizer@parker.org.

IN THE EAST

  • Jason Burtt directs the nondenominational group “Silver Ring Thing,” based just outside Pittsburgh, Pa. The group uses comedy, drama, music videos and testimonials to promote abstinence in live events each year throughout the country. Contact 412-424-2400.
  • Melissa Deckman is associate professor of political science at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. She wrote School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics and “Christian Right School Board Candidates” for the Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics. Contact 800-422-1782 ext. 7494, mdeckman2@washcoll.edu.
  • Richard Parker is a professor of sociomedical sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York. Contact 212-305-3616, rgp11@columbia.edu.
  • Susan D. Rose is a sociology professor at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. She contributed to the book Fundamentalisms and Society, which includes a section on Christian fundamentalism and public education. She also wrote the article “The Sexual Politics of the Religious Right: Sex-Ed and the Public Schools” for the Journal of Religion & Education (1996). Contact 717-245-1244, rose@dickinson.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

  • Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan is a professor of theology and women’s studies at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. She is an expert on ethics and morality and wrote the article “Expanding Classroom Walls” for the Journal of Women and Religion. Contact 919-716-5522, cduggan@shawu.edu.
  • Eugene F. Provenzo Jr. is a professor of education at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. He wrote Religious Fundamentalism and American Education: The Battle for the Public Schools. Contact 305-284-5102, provenzo@miami.edu.
  • Mathew Staver is founder of the Central Florida-based Liberty Counsel,  which for the past five years has promoted a national Day of Purity for teens. Contact 800-671-1776.
  • Melinda Bollar Wagner is a professor of anthropology at Radford University in Radford, Va. She wrote God’s Schools: Choice and Compromise in American Society. Contact 540-831-5157, mwagner@radford.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

  • Stephen Nagy is an associate professor and program director of public health at Western Kentucky University. He is an expert on teen issues, including sex education. Contact 270-745-5870, Stephen.Nagy@wku.edu.
  • Michael Polite is assistant pastor at Riverside Chapel Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nashville, Tenn., which collaborated with several other local Adventist churches on a recent “purity ball.” Contact 615-227-1838.

IN THE MIDWEST

  • Fritz Detwiler is a professor of religion and philosophy at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich. He wrote Standing on the Premises of God: The Christian Right’s Fight to Redefine America’s Public Schools. Contact 517-264-3960, fdetwiler@adrian.edu.
  • Martha May McCarthy is a professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. She is an expert on religion and public education and wrote “Religious Influences in Public Education: Political and Judicial Developments” in Educational Forum (2000) and “People of Faith as Political Activists in Public Schools” in Education and Urban Society (1996). Contact 812-856-8384, mccarthy@indiana.edu.
  • Jeffrey P. Moran is an associate professor of history at the University of Kansas at Lawrence and author of Teaching Sex: The Shaping of Adolescence in the 20th Century. Contact 785-864-9461, jefmoran@ku.edu.
  • W. LaVome Robinson is a psychology professor at DePaul University in Chicago. She is an expert on teen pregnancy and adolescent violence. She has conducted a large study on the effectiveness of school-based health clinics. Contact 773-325-4260, lrobinso@depaul.edu.
  • David Sikkink is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame. He is an expert on religion and public school education. He wrote “Religion and Education” for the book Handbook on Religion and Social Institutions. Contact 574-707-4127, David.Sikkink.1@nd.edu.
  • Brian Wilcox is director of the Center on Children, Families and the Law and a psychology professor at the University of Nebraska. He reported on research findings that deal with both abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education. Contact 402-472-3479, bwilcox1@unl.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

  • Christopher G. Ellison is a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an expert on Christianity and public education. Contact 512-232-6312, cellison@prc.utexas.edu.
  • Thomas B. Holman is a professor of marriage, family and human development at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He wrote “The Teaching of Non-marital Sexual Abstinence and Members’ Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors: The Case of Latter-Day Saints” for the Review of Religious Research. Contact 801-422-6704, thomas_holman@byu.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

  • Ron Glass is an associate professor in the education department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is an expert on moral and political issues in education. Contact 831-459-5188, rglass@ucsc.edu.
  • Douglas Kirby is a senior research scientist for ETR Associates Program Services in Scotts Valley, Calif. ETR provides services for the development, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of public health initiatives. Kirby is nationally known for his work in the field of adolescent sexuality. He has reviewed research on school and community programs aimed at reducing adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors.  Contact 831-438-4060 ext.144, dougk@etr.org.
  • Kristin Luker is a professor of law and sociology at the University of California-Berkeley. She is an expert on teen pregnancy and contraception. She wrote the book Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy. Contact 510-642-4038, luker@socrates.berkeley.edu.

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