Study: Teenage 'virginity pledges' are ineffective

Source: MSNBC

Study: Teenage 'virginity pledges' are ineffective
Youths who promise abstinence are also less likely to use protection

Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.

The new analysis of data from a large federal survey found that more than half of youths became sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they had taken a "virginity pledge," but that the percentage who took precautions against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases was 10 points lower for pledgers than for non-pledgers.

"Taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior," said Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose report appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. "But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking."

<snip>

"This study again raises the issue of why the federal government is continuing to invest in abstinence-only programs," said Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "What have we gained if we only encourage young people to delay sex until they are older, but then when they do become sexually active — and most do well before marriage — they don't protect themselves or their partners?"

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28415602/

Virginia - virgin for short but not for long.

"Only a hypocritical Repubulicon Homelander Wide-Stance, Diaper-Clad, Christo-Taleban, Pretend-Holy Proto-Prude could possibly imagine that Enforced Virginity was going anywhere other than the back seat of a car.

"As far as we Human Beings are concerned, the fascist-freak republicon homelander hypocrites can shut up and sit down."

- Teenagers of Every Century of Human History

Anyone with a brain knows that "abstinence only" education doesn't work. Just ask the Palin family.

to handle this the same way they did, but get better results.

:crazy:

how many young women in the heat of a passionate moment think back to dear old dad and the chastity ball? That's got to screw up a few sex lives.

They needed a study to find this out?

It didn't look at teens as a whole--who by and large are having sex in far greater numbers than those included in this study.

The study basically looks at the effectiveness of a pledge formality within a group of teens who are all raised with the edict that premarital sex is bad.

Any news about teen virginity pledges being ineffective, which we all know, goes in GD, not LBN.

this study appears to address perceived weaknesses in similar earlier studies. It may not be LBN to you, but for anyone interested in getting abstinence only education out of their child's school, information about more refined studies that can be used to rebut the arguments that the studies were flawed is helpful. The news of a new study is less likely to disappear against the general background noise in LBN than in GD.

and now that we have an administration where facts will matter, it is a perfect time to get this data.

This is factual evidence (more of it) to back up the claims by those of us who think a more common sense based approach needs to be taken on this issue. The damn Fundies need to see their ridiculous notions on this important issue are, indeed, ridiculous.

Julie

It is dangerous for children.

It is serious.

Educate the kids, give them free condoms and send them on their way.

Teenagers are gonna have sex, you can't stop it.

Thanks, IanDB1!!! Got my day started will a good belly laugh!

If they really want to encourage abstinence they should watch an episode of "Dirtiest Jobs". The guy was learning how to dock sheep and neuter them. Slit the sac, push the balls out, grab them with the teeth and pull. That's right they used their teeth!

Believing their girls are not going to have sex.

Why do these puritan assholes think their kids are perfect even when the rest of the world is not?

boyfriends/girlfriends, there will be the probability that sex will occur. Better to let kids know about condoms and the like than to insist on chastity.

and as long as they go through things like "puberty" and have stuff like "hormones" coursing through their veins, there will be the probability that sex will occur.

Hopefully one day, science will find a way to overcome these terrible drawbacks to the human condition.

How about the raging hormone and sexually active genes that turn on when Humans reach a certain age???? All society aside....there's biology y'know. And no one can do anything about that. Except of course educate young people.

Fundies can pretend all they want we aren't effected by biology like "animals", but we are in the thick of nature and unless you are extraordinary, when nature calls, you listen. Teenagers have sex because, biologically, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO!

I say, let'em! Just teach them how to not get pregnant and spread disease. It's called "sex education".

you were considered a failure if you weren't socially active. Raging hormones had nothing to do with that part--and raging hormones can be kept under control via self-stimulation, which was considered the most horrible thing to do back in the day--why I have yet to figure out.

Conveniently forget that kids usually got married at a very young age. That there was no sex before marriage was, of course, bogus. The boys had sex with prostitutes or servants, and then got married to girls kept separate and virginal. The girls had no chance at sex before marriage but it wouldn't matter if they did, they were usually married before they hit 18.

If we're not going to keep the kids locked up, and we're not going to marry them to each other before they graduate high school, then they will have sex before marriage. It's really that simple.

Telling someone to wait until they're 18 is one thing. Telling them to wait until they're 30 is a whole different can of worms.

...the reason that teenagers are biologically "supposed to" have sex is that they're also "supposed to" get pregnant. People in their late (and maybe even not-so-late) teens are at their most fertile, and it is in the interests of biology for the most children to be born to the healthiest parents who have the best chance of surviving long enough to get those children to a level of self-supporting maturity. Not to mention that teens who get started reproducing early also have the chance to keep doing so, and have many, many children before their fertile years end, thus assuring the survival of their particular genes.

Now, it may not be what the world needs in a time of overpopulation, and it may not be what the individual or society needs in a time where, to have the best chance in life, people need to be educated into their early 20s or beyond but, biologically, people are "supposed to" start having sex as soon as they reach puberty, with pregnancy logically following shortly thereafter. The fact is, as noted before, that in "the old days," girls would be married off as soon as they started menstruating (generally around 13-15 in those days) and would usually give birth to their first child nine or ten months after the wedding.

The pull-out method: Not effective.

For either pregnancy or STD's.

Not all that long ago, boys & girls did not routinely "date" until around 16-17..and since they married right out of high school, there was only a short window of "opportunity".and until the 60's most boys did not even have their own car, so "dating" was a different thing altogether.

These days with 7 yr olds wearing sparkly spandex, and going to hip-hop/jazz classes & what's on tv 24-7, it;s no wonder why kids "go steady" at 12...and since people no longer get married at 18-19, there is a vastly stretched out adolescence..

Maybe all the hormone laden foods kids eat, are behind the early development, and the interest in sex at ever-earlier ages.

When I was in 9th grade, not even all the girls needed or wore bras...Try to find a 10 yr old today that way..a few of my friends were devastated to be 14 and not have their periods yet.. One did not have her first one until she was almost 16..

It's true that young girls are acting more sexual now, but I've heard many stories from my southern grandparents about how everyone in their rural town started boinking at the age of 12 and were married by 17 or 18. I think sexual behavior is relatively stable over the generations with minor variations from time to time.

Human sexual behavior is more a function of biology than culture. There ain't no stopping a youngster's urge to boink...not hell fire nor damnation nor daddy's stern warnings.

Best we can do as adults is arm them with information. The Unitarian church has an amazing sex ed curriculum for youth. It's 20 weeks of in-depth learning about the whole spectrum of human sexuality and sexual health. I've taught it and seen a lot of kids come through the program over the years. Ain't one of 'em got knocked up yet.

I'd love to see a long term study of kids who get comprehensive sexual eduction. My hunch is they fare better than the fundies.

Can you direct me to more info about these classes? Do all UU churches offer them?

The program is called 'Our Whole Lives' or OWL for short. Here's some info:

http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/ourwhole/

In our area, our church's program is more established so a few other UU churches send their kids our church. I'm not sure how it may work in your area, but I'm sure any UU church could give you more info.

It's a really fantastic curriculum. I'm more familiar with the middle school and high school programs. I have found them to be very well designed, comprehensive, age appropriate and empowering for the kids. I wish I'd had something like that when I was a lad.

:yourock:

Hellfire's not the only way to scare someone straight. :scared:

than any other time. Most people don't think of this as a problem in the 50s because these teen girls got married. I personally feel sick when I think about teenagers 'forced' into marriage. A lot of people talk of this as a noble and a good thing. I disagree and am glad that this occurs less frequently now. Although the Palins were a throw back to days of old.

and since dating was "secretive", lots of sneaky sex went on..and the ones who got caught, ended up forced into marriage..There were a LOT of "7 lb preemies" back then :)

Once the pill came along, and marriage got postponed, it leveled off or perhaps even went down..

and remember too, that single motherhood was about the biggest scandal a person could endure..next to divorce:(

These days, kids are reaching puberty at younger ages, yet they lag behind their bodies emotionally, socially, and intellectually. In other words, kids are capable of having kids even before they reach high school, much less adulthood. Their bodies might function like those of adults, but their minds still have years to finish growing.

The best approach to sex education is not "say no to sex or else", but teach kids that sex is an adult behavior that has adult consequences, and then explain in detail what those consequences are--this includes the emotional consequences!

:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:

Silly me.

water is wet
winter is cold

:rofl:

ANY kind of sex education is ineffective if kids are conditioned to believe a) sex is frivolous, b) you're cooler if you have a partner, and c) the quicker you grow up the better. look at the united kingdom: it has the most "progressive" sex ed program in europe which begins at around 13/14 and is very condom-centric, in a virtually post-religious country with no *cough* "fundie" influence, yet has the highest teen pregnancy rates in europe. the problem is with an oversexualized, morally bankrupt society that neither abstinence or contraception have a hope in hell of controlling

:hi:

They just do it. The behavior and the choices are internalized.

I read about this ages ago - girls were getting STD even though they were still 'virgin'. But it turns out Anal Sex doesn't count when it comes to purity so girls were doing that instead to keep their hymen intact.

Sex is sex - doesn't matter which hole is used.

and they still get to feel self righteous when they proudly boast they're still virgins.

This is nothing new. This tradition has probably been around since before the days of Roman Empire.

:rofl:

And sorry, not buying the Jonas Brothers one either - maybe the youngest one.

a virgin until marriage? I think this was around the same time she was chomping gum in support of his chimperial majesty.

That is why he supports his daughters' right to choose!

who were raised with abstinence only education on the part of their parents. My niece ended up pregnant at 20 just months before her 21st birthday. When I asked her why she was not taking birth control she said she did not want to have "that exam" to get the pills. Oy!!!

I have a nephew who got his girlfriend pregnant right as she was entering her senior year in high school. She walked down the graduation aisle very pregnant but she wasn't the only one in her small rural high school. There were other pregnant teens in her class.

(and financially strapped).

Her son will be four in May. She would like at least one more child but her husband, who came from a VERY dysfunctional home where he basically raised and cared for his younger brothers, does not want another. I have advised her against getting pregnant again without discussing it with her husband.

My nephew has two, a daughter and a son, and he is committed to not having any additional children.

It will pass...

:banghead:

..."Damn! Why weren't these pledges around in when I was in high school?"

:rofl:

That's like a study to show that water is wet.

and paint me surprised.

:rofl:

Details at 11.

Just kidding... This runs along the same lines as to why "Catholic school" Girls are the ones to date in High School...:spank: :blush: :rofl: :rofl:

them in the butt?

That will encourage both safe sex and abstinence at the same time!

Use a condom or become Republican! :D

Is for the parents to delude themselves into believing something that is absolutely not true and not gonna happen.

You know the majority of those folks, "conservatives", seem to live so happily in their selective ignorance and seem to be surprised when reality slaps them in the face.

Next month: Breaking news: The Pope May Be Catholic! Read our thrilling expose!

:eyes:

stupid ass group think mentality pushed upon teens by perverted fathers who fantasized about their daughters, all the while using the guise of fundie religion as their excuse.

fucking weird.

This is simply more religious misinformation to confuse youth and

misdirect their attention which should be on protecting themselves --

not making idiotic pledges.

_at all_, in my opinion. Better to teach critical thinking, independent living, reality-based health education (including contraception and how/where to get it). People who have been taught how to think critically and make informed choices _know_ that abstinence is a choice.

Girls giving blow jobs to be "popular" and get boys to "like them," girls actually happy to be pregnant and looking forward to having someone (a baby) in their lives who'll love them. I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian household (southern Baptist father tempered by a lapsed Catholic, agnostic mother) and it was only when I was 32 years old that I realized I could create choices for myself. What if we taught young people, both male and female, to create _choices_ for themselves, and allow them some autonomy to exercise those choices and accept the consequences for them? I suspect that if we _really_ taught critical thinking skills, kids would make healthier choices overall.

Wild idea, I know.

This needs a study???

Heidi

No surprising there... The ONLY thing who work, is education, education and then some more education -

And maybe even try to educate the youth how to use a condom and birth control... Because teenagers would always be teenagers...
And maybe one thing that is pretty important.. THe parents have to _be there_ for the kids.. That is very important, if they don't the teen agers would do it their own way....

I have ALWAYS find this Virginity pledges silly, and something that never would work out so very good.. Better to educate them, and give them birth control, then they have to decide for them self, if they want to have sex or not.. And a 16 old boy, and a 16 year old girl would do what all 16 year old kids have been doing for the last millennium or two anyway what they are been teatched..

(And I am saying this as an LDS member!)

Diclotican

Sorry my bad english, not my native language.

And you need not apologize that English is not your first language. My husband, DUer Call Me Wesley, is Swiss and English is not his first language, either. :pals:

Heidi

If you are been educated, then you have the choice yourself. Have sex or not have sex, but also know what happened if you do.. Education have doing more good than harm even when it came to sexual eduction... I would say, when the time come,(when I get a child then) it would be somewhat difficult to tell him/her what sex is, but I would rather give them the information, then to not give them the education, and they may end up in something they can't handle them selfs.. And as some have pointed out, with some cation, teenagers who is religious tend to be more careful before they do have sex, that and, they might to have some education, of how to handle things too?.. Not just abstinence of sex, but to have it with some care... Like an condom.. Who I understand are little like a bombshell to many who believe that an 16 year old kid, with his hormone blowing can hold himself, or herself into full control.. That is as difficult as stooping the sun rising, or stop the water who is coming down the river every spring..

It is little as an warning, because my grammar are little less than pefect... Ah, you have a husband who are also here on DU;): Interesting that people have been married by wisting DU;).

True, the Swiss have 4 languages?.. French, Italian German, and a language I am not so sure about.. And Swiss are smaller than Norway, who just have 3... Bokmål, Nynorsk and samisk. It have something with the geography, and history in the country..

Diclotican

Sorry my bad english, not my native language.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20081229/hl_hsn/manyteensdontkeepvirginitypledges

Be careful with this article. The researcher ACTUALLY tested virginity pledgers against other teens (many religious) who delay having sex without the pledge. She did not test virginity pledgers against the total population of teens or against teens more likely to have sex (less religious teens.)

What this study tells me that is that some kids who take those virginity pledges do so under pressure from their parents/church and have no intention of really keeping the pledge OR that some kids who take pledges (like other religious teens) succumb to temptation.

The truth is that religious teens, with or without pledges, tend to delay sex more than the total population of teens and certainly more than non-religious teens. All this study shows is that the pledge itself is not a guarantee against teen sexual behavior. Genuine religiosity DOES seem to have a strong effect on delaying teen sex.

This does not mean that all students shouldn't get sex education; they should. They need to know how to protect themselves if and when they decide to have sex.

:evilgrin:

:evilgrin:

because kids at that age don't undertand the expectations that go into what pledging a vow entails. They understand pleasing their parents.

I think educated teens tend to avoid behaviors that aren't in their best interests--because they understand the ramifications after being taught what they were---better than kids who aren't taught the ramifications. Religious teens, IMO, stand a far better chance of engaging in behaviors that aren't in their best interests because they weren't taught the ramifications to their lives--they were basically told to "do x because I said so" or "don't do x or you will burn in hell if you do" ---that doesn't teach anything... after a while, the teen will disregard the religious reasoning because they weren't taught what to do when prayer ain't cutting it.

that can go on the * 'legacy' list.

Yet another rat hole as a tax dollar funnel to the pockets of cronies.

I hear those worked quite effectively, in fact, better than any pledge.

unlike marriage vows....

My parents are very traditional and conservative but all of my sisters and I were enrolled in sex-ed classes.

I was much too geeky and nerdy in high school and the girls didn't like me anyway.

That's how you promote abstinence in teens: encourage them to be dorky, geeky and nerdy.

I'm too busy playing WOW! :o

About the diseases and about pregnancy.

Young men should hear stories from their elders about child support orders. You'd think that'd give them pause.

But a pledge to a teen, including marriage vows, is hardly going to stand.

:eyes:

just to win your favor.

These promise rings are a joke...did Bristol Palin have to give hers back when she did the nasty?

"Nothing says you love your kids more than coercing them to make false promises just to win your favor."

No mercy! Way to go :toast:

with the same results...after the fundy shitheads have pushed abstinence only ed on another generation of kids.

I suppose it can add to the teenage rebel mystique.

was also ineffective. And in most of my twenties, too.

until the end of time so IMO i think instead of teaching abstinence we should be teaching the proper safety techniques and other berth control options.

:evilgrin:

:rofl: :spray:

I'm shocked, I tell you, SHOCKED!!! :wow:


:freak:

film at 11.

"I promise not to eat the forbidden fruit."

What sane person didn't already know this?

laws relating to drugs and alcohol, driving without a license and who knows what all else? I, for one, am stunned. I can only hope the pinky swear is not affected by this plague.

After eight years of George Bush showing how ineffective taking a pledge to protect and defend the Constitution can be, why did they NEED to do a study?

:banghead:
rocknation