Saturday, March 19, 2005

Fake "Abstinence"?

Interesting findings about the behavior of teens who pledged abstinence:

Teens who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are more likely to take chances with other kinds of sex that increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, a study of 12,000 adolescents suggests.

The report by Yale and Columbia University researchers could help explain their earlier findings that teens who pledged abstinence are just as likely to have STDs as their peers.

The latest study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that teens pledging virginity until marriage are more likely to have oral and anal sex than other teens who have not had intercourse. That behavior, however, "puts you at risk," said Hannah Brueckner, assistant professor of sociology at Yale and one of the study's authors.

Among virgins, boys who have pledged abstinence were four times more likely to have had anal sex, according to the study. Overall, pledgers were six times more likely to have oral sex than teens who have remained abstinent but not as part of a pledge.

The pledging group was also less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience or get tested for STDs, the researchers found.

3 Comments:

At 5:02 AM, Blogger Aaron said...

Sooo not fair Ema. I was going to write about this study and submit it for Grand Rounds. I guess I'll have to come up with something else! ;)

 
At 6:51 PM, Blogger Charlie said...

Abstinence Only Education: Broading Sexual Horizons Since 2000.

Oh, the irony!

 
At 5:55 PM, Blogger D.B. Echo said...

Dammit, why couldn't we have had abstinence pledges when I was in high school?

 

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