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.
You are kidding right? The reason the rates are high is becuase they are encoruaged to be whores, and not old at all about things likew HPV.
"And, of course, keep treating teens like mindless hormones with feet utterly incapable of self-control."
Did I suggest that? I don't think so. I'd rather treat them like young people who can understand factual information and act on it.
Telling teens to just say "no" to sexual activity has not worked out all that well. Teens need real information about sexuality and the consequences of sexual activity.
Since some teens will engage in sexual activity, despite all of our wishes and attempts to get them not to do so, then information on how to prevent pregnancy and minimize the risks of STDs is also important information for them to have.
"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. "
Educate me. How did we do it (not THAT 'it'!! Sex Ed!!) in the 50s? I'm not old enough to recall!!
HPV can be on skin, condom won't even protect you there and HPV can develop into cancer
"maybe eventually they will learn that the more sex they have with as many partners as possible is actually a good thing."
The vast majority of hormone-driven teenage boys probably believe this regardless of what you teach!!
Stud: Laz Willing To Teach Teen Girls
"You reap what you sow. Engage in risky sexual behavior and deal with the consequences."
Indeed. While you may well have had no sexual activity when you were a teen, other teens were not abstinent, however old you are.
Some teens are always sexually active. I think we should help those teens understand how to minimize the risks of STDs and pregnancy. The ones who will remain abstinent will still remain abstinent.
Correct. Its also rampant on college campuses and not taught at all health classes.
Seems to me that those VD horror story films were a pretty good argument for abstinence all by themselves....
Our overall birthrate is one of the highest in the industrialized world. If Europe has a lower birthrate among teens, it's most likely a reflection of the entire shrinking society shying away from parenthood.
Since some teens will engage in gang activity, despite all of our wishes and attempts to get them not to do so,
Since some teens will engage in hate crimes, despite all of our wishes and attempts to get them not to do so,
Since some teens will engage in suicide, despite all of our wishes and attempts to get them not to do so,
Since some teens will engage in reckless driving, despite all of our wishes and attempts to get them not to do so,
"The trend is down and the trend coincides with the "sexually oppressive"
teaching of abstinence. Abstinence is more healthy than promiscuity, especially among teens"
It's not really provable exactly what this trend coincides with. Abstinence-only...or being taught the dangers of unprotected sex...or just seeing the effects of AIDs?
I could as easily make the argument that the trend coincides with more education about birth control...but couldn't 'prove' that beyond a shadow of a doubt either.
As long as they understand child support is for 18 years, there should be no problem.
Maybe it should be the parents' responsibility to educate their children about sex. Novel theory, no?
Puts a new spin on cramming for finals.
"Then deal with the consequences of choices. It's all part of growing up."
We'll have to respectfulyl agree to disagree then. I'd rather try to educate the child to prevent them from getting AIDs or having/causing an unwanted pregnancy, rather than kicking them to the curb with the message of "Deal with the consequences".
Now a days, it seems it's all about putting condoms on cucumbers and teaching about alternative sexual lifestyles. They need to show the shocking films that display what advanced cases of STD's look like. The bigger the gross out factor, the more scared girls will be to either accept advances from or initiate advances to their male friends. Just teaching abstinence or condom use isn't going to get the message out about the dozens of diseases. Hepatitis C is now the big one. You don't even know you have it until 20 years later when your liver conks out and you die.
"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. "
Of course not all teens are sexually active. Some teens, however, are. That's always been the case. Pretending that we can somehow make kids abstain from sex by telling them that they should abstain is little more than happy talk.
I don't know what your reasons for being abstiment in high school were. Whatever they were, you would probably have abstained whether you were given comprehensive sex education or not. Lots of kids don't have sex in high school. Lots of others do. There it is. Telling them not to is not going to change that.
"wrong - they just hand out condoms now......"
Wrong. Most kids can't get condoms in high schools. The actions of liberal in California aren't reflective of schools across America.
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