Educators
Why support abstinence education?
Because it is an excellent tool to encourage students to live a healthy, strong and focused lifestyle in the teen years.
Abstinence is not an end in itself…it is a building block on the way to adulthood that ensures that the future is not complicated by STDs, non-marital pregnancy, and the emotional baggage that results from sexual activity without commitment.
Unfortunately, our youth are growing up in a world that portrays these complications as normative, at the same time it does nothing to convince them that they can be avoided. So many are left to believe that the drama of teenage sexual activity is to be expected and, further, that there are no reasons for delaying sexual activity. They have no sense that their future is significantly affected by the choices of today.
The value of authentic abstinence education is that it gives students a realistic look at the positive benefits of waiting – a truly empowering perspective that helps them hold out for what is most healthy. It is so much more than a just say “No” message.
While instruction for abstinence falls within the realm of education, it impacts not just learning but health – in the short and long term. The public health community, represented notably by the Centers for Disease Control, has gone on record identifying teenage sexual activity as high-risk behavior. The CDC states that delaying the onset of sexual debut is critically important to affecting the long-term health of today’s adolescents, citing both the physical consequences (STDs, non-marital pregnancy) as well as the emotional ones (higher likelihood for depression and attempted suicide). These acknowledgements lead many health practitioners to the conclusion that primary prevention, i.e., avoidance of the behavior, not merely control of the consequences, must now be the goal for sex education in America’s schools.
As a society, we will do our young people a much greater service by encouraging and supporting abstinence than by simply providing tools for contraception. They need to hear the truth from trusted adults, and they need to know that we believe they are capable of making the healthiest choice in their own best interest.
Supporting abstinence education is not a political position or a religious view. It is a health issue. And few things will put our youth on the course toward healthy, productive adulthood like helping them steer clear of sexual activity.
Bernadette Vissani, M.P.H., Director
Project YES You Can!
Does abstinence education work?
For all the controversy surrounding it, you might think that abstinence education has been a complete failure. But just the opposite is true. Evidence abounds that abstinence education programs around the country are having a significant positive impact on teen sexual decision-making. Below you’ll find an Executive Summary for each of the evaluation reports recently done on the two program components of Project YES You Can! That is followed by a research paper by a premier researcher in the field titled, Another Look at the Evidence.
Executive Summary March 17, 2009:
Part 1: Classroom Report
Part 2: Individual Coaching Report