Posted on 01/05/2006 6:54:35 AM PST by Millee
Most sexually active teenage girls know relatively little about sexually transmitted diseases until it is too late, according to new research.
In a survey of 300 adolescent girls in the Pittsburgh area, Carnegie Mellon University researchers found that girls who reported having been diagnosed with an STD knew more about that particular disease than other girls, but did not know more about the other diseases.
The findings are published in the January edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
On average, with the exception of HIV/AIDS, the teens did not know many basic facts about STDs, said Julie Downs, lead author of the study.
"Our schools have decided to focus on AIDS, and that has come at a cost," she said. "Teens just aren't being taught about these other diseases, and so they may come away with a false sense of confidence."
The study's findings are troubling because teenagers who know little about STDs are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior and to delay the treatment of STDs, the researchers said.
And the consequences can be severe. Genital herpes, for example, cannot be cured. Genital warts can render a woman more susceptible to cervical cancer, and chlamydia can lead to infertility.
Abstinence works.
You reap what you sow. Engage in risky sexual behavior and deal with the consequences.
Well what do you expect in this day and age when liberals run around proclaiming how great free love is and never mention the dangers...
You are right, what U.S. needs is to become more like Europe, that will surely solve our problems."
In terms of lower teen birth rates, you're right- that will solve that problem (seeing as how America's teen birth rate is highest in industrialized world. But hey - who needs facts?!)
Kind of like telling them not to smoke rather than educating them as to the right way to smoke.
Some people make it sound like every teenager has sex. They don't. I know, I was one of the kids that didn't (and I was very cute). I also had lots of other girlfriends that didn't have sex when we were teenagers.
It was a different story when we got older (20s), but not when we were young.
"is one of the few industrialized nations which is functionally replacing its population."
Replacing its population with infants born to unwed teenage moms and who have no active fathers in their lives isn't exactly the Ideal Model of Population Replacement.
And since when are 'conservatives' in favor of a policy that only stands to increase the size of the Welfare state?!
"If we don't do something like the Europeans, then that is good."
If having the highest teen birth rate in the industrial world is "good" to you, then yeah, you're right.
We're #1!!! We're #1!!
"You reap what you sow. Engage in risky sexual behavior and deal with the consequences."
That's right kiddies - rather than educate you, we're just gonna let you die or be forced to join the welfare state. Just deal with those consequences.
I would say this destroys the argument that education is the key to preventing VD. We've been "educating" our children about this scourge for half a century now, and they are as ignorant as ever.
I believe that teen pregnancy rates are at their lowest levels in years...
"Abstinence works."
For the very-small % of kids who choose it, you're right. For the other large % that doesn't, it doesn't.
I remember as a teen literally laughing out loud in Sex Ed when they mentioned abstinence-only. All the students got a good laugh at that.
"I believe that teen pregnancy rates are at their lowest levels in years..."
We're still #1, though!! We're the champs!!
There maybe a third option. Have you ever thought about that. Maybe we should go back in time a bit and do things the way we did in the 50s. It's not like there are only 2 ways of doing this.
Yeah, you're right. Let's just give them more sex ed and maybe eventually they will learn that the more sex they have with as many partners as possible is actually a good thing.
Then deal with the consequences of choices. It's all part of growing up.
"You are right, what U.S. needs is to become more like Europe, that will surely solve our problems."
Well, it might help with our birth rate among teenagers, which is the highest in the industrialized world. But, hey, who cares?
So we are number 1 in teen pregnancies??? The trend is down and the trend coincides with the "sexually oppressive"
teaching of abstinence. Abstinence is more healthy than promiscuity, especially among teens.
wrong - they just hand out condoms now......
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