Study Showcases Need for Risk-Avoidance Approach in Teaching Teens About Sex
Sexually active teens more likely to have anal and oral sex, multiple partners
Washington, DC (May 20, 2008) — The National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) calls on health professionals and educators to address the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) associated with oral and anal sex by redoubling abstinence education efforts after a study reveals more than half of U.S. teens have given or received oral sex. Eleven-percent of teens have engaged in anal sex. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
According to the study, sexually experienced teens were almost four times more likely to engage in oral sex and 20 times more likely to engage in anal sex than their peers who were virgins. Additionally, the study reveals teens that combine oral sex with vaginal sex are more than four times more likely to have multiple partners than teens who have not had vaginal intercourse, discrediting the theory that “technical virgins” account for the rise in oral and anal sex in young people.
“Teens are confronted with the dominant cultural message that says that sex, in all its varieties, is expected behavior and without consequence. It’s a message young people receive not just from mainstream media, but in classrooms that teach so-called comprehensive sex education. Some of the most popular sex education curricula encourage risky activities like showering together and body rubbing,” said Valerie Huber, Executive Director, NAEA. “This research shows that risk begets risk, so the risk avoidance approach of abstinence-centered education remains the healthiest message for teens to receive.”
Abstinence-centered education programs teach teens medically accurate information about pregnancy prevention, STDs, HIV/AIDS and contraception, all within the context that abstaining is the only way to completely avoid the physical and emotional risks of casual sex
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About NAEA:
NAEA serves and supports abstinence educators from 43 states who work with more than 1.5 million students across the U.S.
For more information: http://www.abstinenceassociation.org
To schedule an interview with NAEA Executive Director Valerie Huber, please contact Patra Stephan at 202-248-5420 or 202-246-3822.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patra Stephan, Communications Director,
202.248.5420/
202-246-3822