Webs’ Random Ideas

Of all of the methods to reduce the spread of STDs, and teen pregnancy, only one in theory could actually eliminate both. Abstinence. Unfortunately for supporters of Abstinence, it never works out this good. Most scientists that see the data would tend to agree, abstinence education fails on many levels. As an idea, it sounds quite nice and seems great. But it goes against human nature and teenage hormones.

Long post ahead

Five topics will follow (click on one if you wish to skip ahead)
1. Introduction
2. Studies Showing how Abstinence Works
3. Studies Showing the Failures of Abstinence
4. My Thoughts
5. Questions for the Readers

Introduction

A simple Google Scholar search of key words (“Effects of Abstinence Sex Education Programs” and “sexual Abstinence”, without the quotes) turns up quite a bit of information. And gave me some literature to use for this post.

Wikipedia has a great write up on Abstinence Education, I highly recommend reading it. But this article is really what inspired this Science Friday post, well that and this is an important topic to me.

A Congressional committee has found that many abstinence only programs contain false information and outright lies. And one of the requirements of an abstinence only sex education program is that it may not even mention contraception except in the context of failure rates. That’s sheer insanity. As I’ve said many times, we should be modeling our sex education system after those nations who have far lower rates of teen pregnancy, abortion and STDs than we do – which is the entire industrialized world, by the way.

The main problem with Abstinence Education Programs is that they were created to protect an ideology (with a “concerned” parent screaming “WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!” in the background). Instead of being based on sound science. And because of this, those creating the programs try to twist facts and present false information instead of using research. And finding these studies that showcase false info and pointing them out is just as important as presenting the truth.

Studies Showing how Abstinence Works

1) From Heritage Foundation: The Effectiveness of Abstinence Education Programs in Reducing Sexual Activity Among Youth
2) Research on Social Work Practice:The Effects of Abstinence-Based Sex Education Program on Middle School Student’s knowledge and Beliefs
3) I found others, but I couldn’t get the full text, and there wasn’t much to show
4) Other things to look for

1)This first one comes from the Heritage Foundation. If you haven’t heard of them, this should explain everything:

Our Mission:
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute – a think tank – whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

Clicking on “Where we Stand” leads to articles with an insane bias. So knowing this I can’t seem to possibly fathom how their Abstinence article isn’t biased. And sure enough, Google searches on their sources find they like to link to biased organizations (of the likes, hide in a cloud of science, but ideology has a way of rearing it’s ugly head).

2) I could not get the full text of this article, so really all I can evaluate is the abstract…

Using a quasiexperimental research methodology, middle school students (N = 1,450) comprised a treatment group (n = 974) and a comparison group (n = 476). Subjects completed a pretest and posttest reflecting knowledge and beliefs about teenage pregnancy. ANCOVA revealed significant differences (F = 8.98, p< .001)

This is just an example of something to be aware of, statistical tools and what to look for. Mixing Memory Blog has a good explanation of basic stats that are easy to follow…

Anyways, number two represents some poor sampling if you ask me. Their total sample size was 1450, with one group alone being 974. Which is why I am not surprised their findings were significant. You see the greater your sample size (beyond a certain point) the more likely you are to have results closer to the mean.

Essentially if you think of bell curve graphs; the more you draw samples from the population, the more your bell curve (of your samples) will be be squeezed closer to the population mean. This is called Kurtosis.

The BLUE curve is a normal distribution. The RED curve is showing Kurtosis

The problem with a high sample is that you are more likely to reject the null hypothesis when you should have accepted it. Meaning you will think you have found a significant difference when you really haven’t. I don’t have the full text like I said, so all I can do is speculate about the findings.

3) Not much to mention here…

4) One possible give-away your study is full of crap, you find it through a Google(scholar) search, but not through a University Library search…

Other things I commonly do, scroll straight down to the reference section. If it doesn’t exist, scan the article for references. If none are found then don’t trust the information, it is likely biased, and just someone’s thoughts.

If it does exist, pick a couple references and do a Google Search. In about 3 minutes of time I was able to find out that one of the main sources for the Heritage article was an organization that hides itself in declarations of science, but really just has a religious conservative bias. The Medical Institute of Sexual Health.

I found other articles here, but many of them I had to be subscribed to journals for, and I couldn’t find them using my University Library search.

Studies Showing the Failures of Abstinence

1) Increased sexual abstinence among in-school adolescents as a result of school health education in Soroti district, Uganda
2) Abstinence and Safer Sex HIV Risk-Reduction Interventions for African American Adolescents
3) I found plenty more studies, but some are in PDF form and others you need a university login in or journal log in to read.

1) How a good sex ed program can work…

Uganda emphasized improved access to information, improved peer interaction and improved quality of performance of the existing school health education system. [...] The percentage of students who stated they had been sexually active fell from 42.9% (123 of 287) to 11.1% (31 of 280) in the intervention group, while no significant change was recorded in a control group.

There are actually quite a few studies done on sex ed in Africa, which is great. It might help to fix some of the problems the Catholic Church created when they went on missions to Africa to teach Africans how they are sinners for using condoms. All the while Africa had incredibly high STD rates. And in the process they show also show how a program that uses sound sex ed information can have real impacts.

2) A great study cause it shows that abstinence could work…

We based our abstinence intervention on cognitive-behavioral theory and information gathered during formative research with adolescents from the study population. It provided accurate information, did not portray sex in a negative light, and was not moralistic. Although the abstinence intervention was effective in the short term, its effects diminished with longer-term follow-up. Future research must seek to increase the longevity of these promising effects.

If the Abstinence programs don’t contain any bias. However the gains from such a program are marginal compared to a more well rounded sex education program. And if you read the study, they provide a lot more information about sex to their Abstinence group, than most Abstinence programs actually do. For instance some Abstinence programs are not allowed to mention condoms, or if they do, they have mention how they are not 100% effective, etc. But in this study their Abstinence program actually mentioned how effective condoms are, but that Abstinence was still the only sure fire way.

3) So rather than try and show all the other studies, them I invite you to go out and find some for yourself. If you have questions about the stats read the link above to the Mixing Memory Blog, or ask me (I will do my best).

My Thoughts

This is yet another reason why science and logic education is sooooooooooo important.

Think about this abstinence issue logically; when you have more accurate information you are going to make smarter choices. This is basically true in all walks of life. Abstinence Education fails to teach kids what they need to know about sex. And instead keeps sex as a taboo subject everyone is afraid to talk about. Leaving the kid to learn about sex through third parties such as friends, Internet, pornos, and other shady sources.

Do you really want your child to learn this way?

Abstinence Education leads to more teens having unprotected sex failing to keep STDs down, and failing to keep teen pregnancy down. Abstinence also leads to teens breaking their vow of chastity sooner than other methods of sex education, meaning it does not even do what it was designed to do.

Plain and simple, Abstinence Education alone flat out fails. Instead abstinence should be taught as one form of prevention in an all inclusive program where teens can learn about sex. And I got news for you people, you need to do it before F***ING High School (when I went through sex ed).

Those that are going to have sex are going to have sex. You can teach them abstinence but they will find a way. Those that are going to use Abstinence will likely use it whether you teach them about sex or abstinence. At least if you teach both groups accurate information on sex and how to make an informed decisions they have the opportunity to make a smart decision. Otherwise your playing a game of roll the dice and wait and see.

Talk to your child about sex and teach them the right things yourself. If you don’t know much go pick up a book and/or talk to a doctor/professional. Teach the child to make informed decisions and be ready when the time comes. And don’t be afraid, or at least hide it. You need to show them this topic is important to you, that you love them and want them to make the right decisions.

Questions for the Readers

How did you learn about sex?

Did you go through Sex Ed in school? When; what year were you, or how old? Did it make an impact on you?

Any funny stories (not looking for anything too nasty here )?