Posted on 03/18/2005 1:46:46 PM PST by texaspirate
Study: Abstinence May Lead to Risky Acts
1 hour, 35 minutes ago U.S. National - AP
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
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
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
When my ex was pregnant with our daughter, we had an old couple teasing us about it. They told us that all we needed was aspirin to keep from getting pregnant. Of course I had to ask them what they thought. They said, "All the girl needs is 1 tablet of aspirin. Hold it between her knees and keep it there".
We have a lot more options and life choices nowadays. Early marriages will become early divorces in a lot of cases if we push people into marriage before they're ready.
We are already experiencing catastrophic divorce rates. It is not the breadth of choices but instead, the lack of commitment, moral turpitude and childishness of the generations.
Oh, no question about the delay - the media came up with the neologism "adultescent" to describe the phenomenon of people in their 20s and 30s behaving like teens. I don't know if one can say that humans are biologically meant to marry at any time or another - all that the biological message says is "go on, have sex."
"Adultescent"? This term really caught my eye. I wonder if they are picking it up from their grandparents - this was an article published in the Houston Chronicle today: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/features/3090608
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
I knew you wouldn't disappoint!
Bruckner and Bearman Study Shows Abstinence Education Works
3/18/2005 3:36:00 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: April Kurtz of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, 605-335-3643 or info@abstinence.net; Web: http://www.abstinence.net
WASHINGTON, March 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A one year old study resurfaced this week, questioning the efficacy of virginity pledges. Not surprisingly, study authors and admitted contraception-education supporters Hannah Bruckner and Peter Bearman are twisting the study's results to fit their ideological agenda. Despite the authors' attempt to distort the study's findings, the data clearly shows that virginity pledges are a helpful tool in curbing teen sexual activity and its dangerous consequences.
Bruckner and Bearman have chosen to focus media spotlight on the question of virginity pledgers and STDs, claiming that individuals who make virginity pledges are just as likely to contract an STD as those who do not. However, the study actually found that virginity pledgers were 1/3 less likely to have an STD than those who did not make a virginity pledge. In addition, the study also found that individuals who made a virginity pledge are 1/2 as likely to become pregnant and are just as knowledgeable about contraception as those individuals who did not make a virginity pledge. Not surprisingly, Bruckner and Bearman neglected to highlight these pro-pledge findings.
"The twisting of this study's data shows how desperate the anti-abstinence community is to draw attention away from their own failed programs of contraception education," said Leslee J. Unruh, president of the Abstinence Clearinghouse. "In fact, research consistently documents the record of abstinence education as one of success."
Among the many studies which document the success of abstinence education, the CDC's AD-Health Study shows that teens who take virginity pledges are happier and healthier than teens who are sexually active.
Documented facts include:
-- Individuals who abstain from sexual activity are less likely to become pregnant or contract a sexually transmitted disease than individuals who do not. -- Individuals who abstain from sexual activity are less likely to be depressed or to attempt suicide than individuals who do not. -- Individuals who abstain from sexual activity are less likely to engage in other illicit behaviors, including alcohol and drugs. -- Individuals who abstain from sexual activity are more likely to experience a happy marriage and to enjoy a higher standard of living than those individuals who do not.
"Try as they may, contraception promotors can't change the facts. Abstinence education works. Parents know it and teens want it. So, why do the latex lobby continue to push their dangerous message of so-called "safe" and "casual" sex onto minors?" asked Leslee J. Unruh. "Could it be that someone is making money off of our children's demise?"
-0-
/© 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.