Study: Abstinence-pledge doesn't work.

[AndyMan 7]

From the AP, here quoting the LA Daily News: http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~2770828,00.html

Who's surprised?


Study: Abstinence-pledge teens likely to experiment

By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- 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.

Data for the study were taken from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. An in-school questionnaire was given to a nationally representative sample of students in grades 7-12 and followed up with a series of in-home interviews roughly one, two and six years later. It was funded in part by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D., called the study "bogus," disputing that those involved had pledged true "abstinence."

"Kids who pledge abstinence are taught that any word that has 'sex' in it is considered a sexual activity," Unruh said. "Therefore oral sex is sex, and they are staying away."


_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[GTAVercetti 0]

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Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D., called the study "bogus," disputing that those involved had pledged true "abstinence."

"Kids who pledge abstinence are taught that any word that has 'sex' in it is considered a sexual activity," Unruh said. "Therefore oral sex is sex, and they are staying away."


_Am

The scary part is that I think she probably actually believes that.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[DrunkMonkey 0]

Yet another groundbreaking story in this month's "DUH!" Magazine!!!

[sfzombie13 324]

but will the govt stop wasting money o it or try to find a program that works???

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Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[billvon 3,114]

>Study: Abstinence-pledge teens likely to experiment . . .

Good thing the official position of the US government is that abstience is what parents should be teaching! From www.4parents.gov:

---------------------------------
Abstinence helps protect teens from contracting a sexually transmitted disease, becoming pregnant, and the emotional risk and responsibility involved with sex. Abstinence is the healthiest choice for teens because they are not ready for the adult emotions of sex and the adult choices that sex entails...

Abstinence for your teen means that he or she would avoid voluntary intimate sexual contact (oral, anal or vaginal). This is the best choice emotionally and physically for all teens. The values that come from abstinence, such as respect, responsibility, and self-control, will benefit their future relationships...

Tell them that abstinence is the healthiest choice... Waiting for sex shows self-respect. Let your teen know that even though they are capable of having sex, having sex will not make them an adult...making good choices will.

(later on the same site)

A homosexual is a person who prefers sexual contact with people of the same sex... If you believe your adolescent may be gay, or is experiencing difficulties with gender identity or sexual orientation issues, consider seeing a family therapist who shares your values to clarify and work through these issues.
--------------------------------


So don't tell them about condoms, just tell them about not having sex! And if they do get HIV, well, they're probably gay, and at least then you can get them help for their mental illness.

[AndyMan 7]

I love Bill Maher's editorial on Salon.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2005/04/01/abstinence/index.html

Abstinence pledges suck -- literally

As news spreads that teens who pledge chastity have lots more kinky sex, millions of aging boomers ask: Where was Bush when I was in high school?

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Bill Maher

April 1, 2005 | New Rule: Abstinence pledges make you horny. A new eight-year study just released reveals that American teenagers who take "virginity" pledges of the sort so favored by the Bush administration wind up with just as many STDs as the other kids.

But that's not all -- taking the pledges also makes a teenage girl six times more likely to perform oral sex, and a boy four times more likely to get anal. Which leads me to an important question: where were these pledges when I was in high school?

Seriously, when I was a teenager, the only kids having anal intercourse were the ones who missed. My idea of lubrication was oiling my bike chain. If I had known I could have been getting porn star sex the same year I took Algebra II, simply by joining up with the Christian right, I'd have been so down with Jesus they would have had to pry me out of the pew.

For a bunch of teens raised on creationism, these red state kids today are pretty evolved -- sexually, anyway, and for that they can thank all who joined forces to try and legislate away human nature, specifically the ineluctable urge of teenagers to hump.

Yes, the "What do we tell the children?" crowd apparently decided not to tell them anything. Because people who talk about pee-pees are potty-mouths. And so armed with limited knowledge, and believing regular, vaginal intercourse to be either immaculate or filthy dirty, these kids did with their pledge what everybody does with contracts: they found loopholes. Two of them to be exact.

Is there any greater irony than the fact that the Christian Right actually got their precious little adolescent daughters to say to their freshly scrubbed boyfriends: "Please, I want to remain pure for my wedding night, so only in the ass. Then I'll blow you." Well, at least these kids are really thinking outside the box.

There's a lot worse things than teenagers having sex, namely, teenagers NOT having sex. Here's something you'll never hear: "That suicide bomber blew himself up because he was having too much sex. Sex, sex, sex, non-stop. All that crazy Arab ever had was sex, and look what happened."

Well, that's our story -- of how faith and the party of smaller government combined to turn your kids into a generation of super-freaks. Which shouldn't be surprising: Prohibition didn't work, "Just say no" didn't work, and I understand there's a host of Americans who illegally obtain and smoke marijuana. They're the ones who've been giggling every time I say anal sex.

salon.com



_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[miked10270 0]

What an excellent, thought provoking and interesting thread.
Mainly because it allows me to post:

http://technicalvirgin.com/

The NOT WORK SAFE TV commercials are an absolute hoot!

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

[SpeedRacer 1]

Quote

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.

This is kind of interesting. A friend of my father's said he grew up in Arkansas, and said that some of his classmates kinda believed that oral sex wasn't really sex. So these girls would go down on their boyfriends & both would still say with a clear conscience that they were still virgins & had not had sex, so it wasn't really a sin.

Speed Racer
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[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Isn't it odd that two of the best political commentators in this country are stand up comedians? Bill Maher and Jon Stewart.

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you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

This is kind of interesting. A friend of my father's said he grew up in Arkansas, and said that some of his classmates kinda believed that oral sex wasn't really sex. So these girls would go down on their boyfriends & both would still say with a clear conscience that they were still virgins & had not had sex, so it wasn't really a sin.

Arkansas, eh? So Clinton really did think he was telling the truth!

[rickjump1 0]

Quote

Quote

This is kind of interesting. A friend of my father's said he grew up in Arkansas, and said that some of his classmates kinda believed that oral sex wasn't really sex. So these girls would go down on their boyfriends & both would still say with a clear conscience that they were still virgins & had not had sex, so it wasn't really a sin.

Arkansas, eh? So Clinton really did think he was telling the truth!

Don't forget the part about beating up the brother and out running the father to remain a virgin.

Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

[Vallerina 2]

Wow...Playboy got to that study well before anyone else! I read that a month or two ago.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[blackdog 0]

Quote

What an excellent, thought provoking and interesting thread.
Mainly because it allows me to post:

http://technicalvirgin.com/

The NOT WORK SAFE TV commercials are an absolute hoot!

Mike.

finally good guidance for teens in this troubled world of questions. Mike must be a youth group leader at his church or local teen center. Kudos Mike!