Abstinence-based versus comprehensive sex education
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Abstinence-Based versus comprehensive education
The United States remains among the leading developed nations with high rates of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The United States government funds sex education programs and abstinence programs in the efforts to reduce the increasing rates of teenage pregnancies and infections by sexually transmitted diseases. There have been queries on the effectiveness and efficiency of the activity after more than a decade of funding programs. The questions have been raised on whether the programs have been successful in reducing the rates of pregnancy and facilitated abstinence and whether the programs should be continued. The purpose of this paper is to determine the efficiency, effectiveness and the outcomes of comprehensive sex education and abstinence based approaches.
Sex education in learning institutions has generated divergent views from many people across the United States. While some people feel that sex education is effective in preventing early pregnancies, some feel that sex education tends to encourage sexual activities among teenagers. Sex education incorporates practices such as the use of condoms which send mixed reactions and message to students (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019). This idea has received support from the United States government, which encourages abstinence-based initiatives. The programs are promoted by the Adolescent Family Life Act and Community-Based Abstinence Education, among others. The programs encourage young people to delay sex activities until marriage. Federal government funding regulations do not cover informing the youth about the use of contraceptives or any safe sex practices. With the availability of federal funding, the legislators from the different states have the responsibility to determine the type of sex education they will affect in their states in the effort to reduce the rising numbers of teenage pregnancies. To evaluate the effectiveness of sex education and abstinence programs, the study will compare the data in states that have embraced the two different initiatives. The initiative that reduces the least cases of teenage pregnancies will be deemed to be more productive.
The approaches of abstinence and sex education are influenced by ethics, morals, politics, and religion, among others. Effectiveness is a critical component in the debate on sex education versus abstinence-based approaches (Johnson, 2016). Policymakers in the United States are compelled to determine the approach that best serves to reduce the cases of early pregnancies in teenage and high cases of STDs. Two landmark studies examined sex education and abstinence programs; the initial study dealt with abstinence-based programs and was conducted by the Mathematical Policy Research. The study did not find any evidence that abstinence marriage based programs increase the rate of sexual abstinence. The second study developed research findings on various programs in the reduction of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The study was conducted by Douglas Kirby. His conclusions found out that abstinence-only programs delay the initiation of teens in sexual activity. The study defined abstinence programs as those that advise the young people to remain more resilient while sex education programs as the programs that encourage abstinence besides encouraging them to use contraceptives (Weed , & Ericksen, 2017).
Kirby’s meta-analysis study supports the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education programs; the study suggests that intensive sex education covering HIV topics and recommending good behavior works best in reducing teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Many case studies, however, show that abstinence-only programs rarely have a positive effect on sexual teen behaviors. Some individual studies indicate that contraceptive education is not directly associated with high risks of sexual activity in teenagers. The supporters of abstinence-only initiatives believe that sex education results in a lower risk of pregnancy and HIV infections. Data indicate that abstinence-only programs are ineffective. The family values in each state differ, and intensification of sex education is met with high opposition. Many people in the United States believe that prescribed sex education programs that teach children on avoiding sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy would be effective in solving the challenge of early teenage pregnancies (Johnson, 2016). In a study conducted in a sample representative of the United States about education programs and abstinence programs, 82 % of the study sample advocated for comprehensive programs that incorporate both abstinence and sex education programs. The abstinence-only programs received support from 36% of the sampled population with a rate of opposition at 50%.
Data indicate that education does not correlate with the rate of teenage pregnancies. However, it shows a positive relationship between education and the rate of abortion in teens and a negative relationship with teen birth rates. Teen pregnancy affects their education; pregnant teens are not likely to complete high schools and join colleges since they are most likely to fall out of school. The data indicate that 51% of teen mothers attained their high school diploma courses at the age of 22 years with a comparison of 89% of the women who had not given birth. In a study with 140 participants, data were aggregated in line with abstinence and sex education programs. The results were analyzed using a t-test. The results indicated that people are better aware of the dangers of STDs and are able to share facts with friends. The recommendations of the study showed that comprehensive sex education is very effective in reducing the rates of pregnancy.
The states which have adopted sex education approaches have a lower rate of teenage pregnancies. For instance, in the year 2011, 20 states mandated sex education, while 32 states mandated HIV education in their learning institutions. The states with comprehensive education policies received federal government funding for the abstinence-only programs (Shepherds et al, 2017). Research is done by multiple institutions to assess the relationship between sexuality in adolescents and corresponding birthrate. The federal funding has been ongoing for the abstinence-only programs (AOE) and adolescent pregnancy prevention (APP). The AOE programs discourage exposure of contraceptive use among the adolescent. The APP approach, on the other hand, teaches adolescents on diverse topics of medical health. The major outcome was 1000 live births, who were aged between 15-19 years old. The researchers used descriptive statistics in making their summary outcomes. A regression model was used to model the outcome by education program types AOE and APP.
The first recommendation in the efforts to lower teenage pregnancies is ensuring that comprehensive sex education is taught in all public schools. Teacher specialization will also be effective. The responsibility of administering sex education is entrusted to faculties that lack enough training. Aspects of ethics, behaviour, and decision making should be incorporated into the sex education approach. The various stakeholders in education, such as educators, parents, and policymakers, should assist teenagers in making ideal sexual health and reproductive decisions.
Wide range of research has been done in determining the efficiency of abstinence-based programs versus the comprehensive sex education. Different states have different values, and the impacts of the two programs vary in the various states.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2019). Abstinence-Only Education: Impact on Adolescent Birth Rates. AAP Grand Rounds, 41(6), 71-71.
Johnson, K. (2016). Insights in Public Health: The Current State of Sexual Health Education in Hawai ‘i Public Schools. Hawai’i Journal of Medicine & Public Health, 75(3), 82.
Weed, S. E., & Ericksen, I. H. (2017). RE-EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE: School-Based Comprehensive Sex Education.
Shepherd, L. M., Sly, K. F., & Girard, J. M. (2017). Comparison of comprehensive and abstinence-only sexuality education in young African American adolescents. Journal of adolescence, 61, 50-63.
Guttmacher Institute. [Accessed April 25, 2020];Facts on American teens’ sources of information about sex. Available at: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Teen-Sex-Ed.html.