By Francis Scarcella
LEWISBURG — A recent study of teen sexual activity suggests abstinence-only programs work.
Cathy Woods, CEO of the Expectation’s Women Center in Lewisburg, a program that offers abstinence-only programs for high school students said the findings do not surprise her.
Woods said her center has started a program called “The Sexy Truth,” which involves going to area schools to help teach teens that it’s OK to wait to have sex.
“We want to teach healthy relationships,” she said. “We are finding that the teens are loving this program.”
Woods has offered her class in schools in Lycoming County. She hopes to offer it at other schools.
The two-year study — suggesting that abstinence-only sex-education programs may be more effective than teaching children about contraception — has reignited debate over the best way to reduce the number of teen pregnancies.
Dr. John B. Jemmott III, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, studied 662 black students ages 12 to 15 from four Philadelphia schools between 2001 and 2004.
Students were randomly assigned to a one of four eight-hour courses — one focused solely on abstinence; one that included discussions about safe sex; one that mentioned both abstinence and safe sex; and one that did not mention sex at all.
Teachers in the abstinence-only program spoke to students in small groups about their thoughts or concerns and what they knew about sexually transmitted diseases. During some of the sessions, they taught students how to respond to pressures of having sex early.
Over the years included in the study, only 33 percent of students in the abstinence programs started having sex, compared with about 52 percent in the safe sex courses. About 42 percent of the students in the abstinence and safe sex program started having sex, and about 47 percent of those in the course that did not mention sex went on to have sex.
Woods said that although she hasn’t seen the results of the study, but she has seen first-hand that abstinence-only courses are effective.
“I am not shocked at all,” she said.
The study’s findings come just after the Obama administration cut $170 million in federal funding for abstinence-only programs, while directing $114 million toward other pregnancy prevention programs.
“I don’t want the government’s money,” Woods said. “People who believe in what we do will be the ones who will help us.”
However, opponents of abstinence-only classes are arguing that one study alone does not justify changing health policy.
“This is one case where it worked,” said Bill Albert, from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy in Washington, D.C. “It’s not to say that this will work in a small town in Iowa.”
n E-mail comments to fscarcella@dailyitem.com
