Unveiling the Flaws: Abstinence-Only Education's Risks & Research Gaps

The conversation surrounding sexual education carries much controversy. We are forced to ask what methods of education are best suited for addressing issues as delicate and personal as sexual health and pregnancy. While the U.S. has adopted abstinence-only until marriage (AOUM) as the primary curriculum in schools, we have failed to account for evidence of effectiveness. President Trump and the government have neglected to identify issues regarding the adoption of an abstinence-focused curriculum. Abstinence-only education does not ensure teenagers will wait to engage in sexual activity, but rather leaves them uneducated and unprepared to pursue safe sex practices when they choose to become sexually active.

Lack of comprehensive sex-ed programs put teens at greater risk of obtaining STDs, becoming pregnant, and practicing unsafe sex because lack of comprehensive sex-ed programs leaves students with little to no knowledge regarding contraception, and safe sex practices that can help guide a healthy relationship. While Gonzalez-Ramirez does a decent job explaining the dangers of abstinence-only education, she fails to provide sufficient evidence to support her claim.

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We can retrieve some basic understanding of the dangers of relying too heavily on abstinence-only education from the media article Trump’s Latests Emphasis on Abstinence Education is Dangerous. This article explains Trump’s plan for funding sexual health education and the redistribution of $75 million to support abstinence-only programs (Gonzalez-Ramirez, 2018). Choosing to focus education on an abstinence-only approach is psychologically and physically dangerous for teens. Teenagers are taught that abstinence until marriage is the “only correct and moral path,” rather than how to stay safe when engaging in sexual activities (Gonzalez-Ramirez, 2018).

AOUMs or Abstinence Until Marriage programs neglects to address topics such as sexual orientation, safe sex practices, contraception, and what a healthy relationship looks like. This lack of knowledge leaves teens in greater danger of pregnancy and STDs if they choose to have sex before marriage.

Gonzalez-Rameriz continues by explaining how coun, a fatherless numbersnumberfatherless of studies have been conducted to determine if abstinence-only education is effective. According to her report, abstinence education has been deemed ineffective on numerous occasions. Teens still have sex, but the risks of unintended pregnancies, and acquiring STDs are heightened due to a lack of knowledge. So far research has been inconclusive on determining whether or not abstinence programs delay teens’ first time having sex. However, comprehensive sex-ed programs positively influence when teens begin having sex, how frequently, whether STIs and unintended pregnancies developed, and whether protection is used (Gonzalez-Ramirez, 2018). While the article gives some insight as to the dangers of abstinence-only education and the government's decision to focus on “promoting avoidance messages,” we are provided little information about  the actual studies conducted and how conclusions were reached (Gonzalez-Ramirez, 2018).

While Gonzalez-Ramirez’s article begins to express the importance of comprehensive sex education in schools, little information about where conclusions were drawn is provided. Some research is briefly mentioned, yet only statistics regarding the decrease in comprehensive programs are displayed. Gonzalez-Ramirez fails to explaininexplainingin procedural issues and other factors that may skew results suggesting the ineffectiveness of abstinence education. To determine that comprehensive education is more effective than abstinence education, it is crucial to look at research studies that have been conducted and published. In the article, Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S, by Katherine F. Stanger-Hall and David W. Hall, we are guided through an experiment and exposed to procedures, controls, contributing factors, and a debrief of final results. Data for their study is extracted from 48 of the 50 states. Each of the states is given a number corresponding to the types of education adopted by that specific state. Coding numbers range from zero through three. Zero meaning abstinence isn’t discussed, one indicates abstinence was covered in the curriculum, two abstinence was emphasized, and three abstinence was stressed ( Stanger Hall & Hall, 2011). After each state was assigned a number to correspond with the adopted curriculum, data regarding pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates among teens were gathered from the 48 participating states(Stanger-Hall & Hall, 2011, p.2). While Katherine Stanger-Hall and David Hall originally hypothesized that curriculum placing higher stress on abstinence behavior would be correlated with practicing abstinence, thus leading to less teen pregnancy, this was not the case. Once data was reviewed they found that level one states, those that mentioned abstinence but had an overall comprehensive focus had the lowest pregnancy and birth rates, whereas level three states, which stressed abstinence were correlated with the highest pregnancy rates. While the findings do align with conclusions reached in Trump’s Latests Emphasis on Abstinence Education is Dangerous, more evidence is provided in Katherine Stanger-Hall and David W. Hall’s report.

It is also important to note that Katherine Stanger-Hall and David Hall controlled for other possible factors playing a role in their findings that suggest comprehensive sex education is more successful in preventing teen pregnancy and birth. Things such as medical waivers, ethnic composition, educational attainment, and socioeconomic status are accounted for in their study. On the other hand, Ramirez failed to address outside factors that impact data. Therefore, the reliability of her report is compromised. Gonzalez-Ramirez could make her piece more educational and convincing by adding more focused imperativefromimperative frosideprovide focused research conducted rather than simply feeding her audience results with no background information.

To further further the critique of Ramirez’s article, its abstinabstainside focus abstinence-focusederativeside sidefocused nativ additional research regarding sex education and pregnancy among teens is investigated. In Teen Fertility in Transition: Recent and Historic Trends in the United States, by John S. Santelli and Andrea J Melnikas, we achieve a whole new way of looking at issues with abstinence-only education. This piece uncovers the history behind teen pregnancy and how it correlates to the accessibility of education and protection. Santelli and Melnikas demonstrate historical events that have influenced rates of pregnancy among teens, including the FDA approval of birth control, advances in contraceptive technologies, and support for sex education (Santelli & Melnikas, 2010). Based on historical data and trends it is evident that periods of abstinence-focused in which birth control and education are easily attainable, teen pregnancies and birth rates decline. The shift in 1998 from comprehensive education which spreads awareness of HIV, to an abstinence focused curriculum, launched a severe decrease in the use of protection. Sense, abstinence programs direct attention to failure rates of contraception and condoms the importance of protection is often dismissed (Santelli & Melnikas, 2010, p.377). This is problematic because it almost encourages teens to engage in unsafe sex.

Santelli and Melnikas look not only at education practices in the U.S. but also at practices adopted in European countries. By doing this, the success European countries have had in reducing pregnancies through the encouragement of contraceptive use is highlighted. Similar results are evident when looking at Dutch teens, who use protection more frequently, and have fewer sexual partners than Americans (Schalet, 2004). This side-by-sidsideside focus focused on imperative reports on information-by-side, and comparisons help demonstrate the importance of education that teach about contraceptives. Since public policy does play such a significant role in shaping young people’s understanding of the responsibilities tied to relationships and sex, it is reprehensible to withhold safe sex information from teenagers (Schalet, 2004).

It is undeniable that the articles written by both Schalet and Santelli and Melnikas accomplished a high level of research, whereas Rameriz’s article gets you interested but requires you to dig more on your own to find evidence. By taking a step back and looking at the progression of sex education and how it’s correlated with reduced pregnancy rates, we can see why a comprehensivinformation outlining education is important. More understanding of the situation is also drawn by making comparisons. Santelli and Melnikas set out the facts, showed the evidence and,self-reports allowed us to make our self-reportsinterventionin conclusions, whereas Rameriz’s article felt more forceful. Little evidence is provided but we are expected to come to the same conclusion.

Lastly, we can look at the approach adopted by, Johns B. Jemmott III and his colleagues. Jemmott and his team conducted a study using middle school students. Random assignment was employed to assign subjects to one of five conditions. Conditions included: “an 8-hour safer sex–only intervention, an 8-hour comprehensive intervention, a 12-hour comprehensive intervention, [and a] 8-hour health-promotion control intervention” (J. Jemmott III, L Jemmott & Fong, 2010, p.2). After partaking in their assigned intervention type, subjects used self-reportself-report self-information outlining side comprehensive outlining to indicate their sexual behaviors. While no significant differences were detected in pregnancy rates for this experiment, both the eight and twelve-hour comprehensive interventionsinterventionThe informationoutlining groups reported having multiple partners less frequently than The informationoutliningLatest'sother conditions (J. Jemmott III, L Jemmott & Fong, 2010).

Paper organization tactics employed by Jemmott and his colleagues also proved to be successful. Several different sections were implemented in this report, making it easy to navigate and understand. The piece was broken down into categories that include methods, experimental conditions, outcomes, social desirability response, statistical analysis, and results. In each category, various pieces of information could be accessed. InformationThe informationoutlining included, how each intervention was defined, what assigned tasks looked like, and how conclusions were reached. While findings from this experiment were unable to detect a significant difference regarding pregnancy, STDs, and contraceptive use, the techniques used to organize the paper are successful. Rameriz could take note of the organizing principles adopted in this study. Although Rameriz does not conduct research herself, she does have a section stating that research proves abstinence intervention to be ineffective (Gonzalez-Ramirez, 2018). However, very little information is provided about this research she claims to exist. It would be beneficial to the audience if Rameriz dedicated this section to briefly outline an experiment that could serve as an example.

After being exposed to each of the articles discussed throughout this essay, problems regarding abstinence-only education are palpable. Abstinence programs fail to prepare teens to practice safe sex and maintain good health. It has also become clear that peer-reviewed articles contain more evidence, and are more helpful in allowing the audience to formulate their own opinions based on the facts. Each of the peer-reviewed research articles had a useful way of expressing why abstinence education is unfeasible when trying to reduce pregnancy among teens. For Trump’s side-by-sidefocusedside focused focusefocused imperativesreports information imperativesimperativecomprehensive information imperativeitsside-focusedimperatives  Emphasis on Abstinence Education is Dangerous to be more effective, it could have adopted one of the techniques expressed in the other articles. This could be anything from providing more statistics, referencing historical examples, or comparing rates of pregnancy to other states and developed countries that use different approaches to sex education.