Comprehensive sex ed may cut teen pregnancies (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Comprehensive sex educationthat includes discussion of birth control may help reduce teenpregnancies, while abstinence-only programs seem to fall short,the results of a U.S. survey suggest.

Using data from a 2002 national survey, researchers foundthat among more than 1,700 unmarried, heterosexual teensbetween 15 and 19 years old, those who'd received comprehensivesex ed in school were 60 percent less likely to have beenpregnant or gotten someone pregnant than teens who'd had noformal sex education.

Meanwhile, there was no clear benefit from abstinence-onlyeducation in preventing pregnancy or delaying sexualintercourse, the researchers report in the Journal ofAdolescent Health.

The study found that teens who'd been throughabstinence-only programs were less likely than those who'dreceived no sex ed to have been pregnant. However, thedifference was not significant in statistical terms, whichmeans the finding could have been due to chance.

In addition, there was no evidence that comprehensive sexeducation increased the likelihood of teen sex or boosted ratesof sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) -- a concern of peoplewho oppose teaching birth control in schools.

While comprehensive sex ed did not clearly reduce the STDrisk, there was a modest, but statistically insignificantreduced risk of engaging in sex. The abstinence-only approachhad no effect on either factor, the researchers found.

"The bottom line is that there is strong evidence thatcomprehensive sex education is more effective thanabstinence-only education at preventing teen pregnancies," saidlead researcher Pamela K. Kohler, of the Center for AIDS andSTD at the University of Washington in Seattle.

She told Reuters Health the study "also solidly debunks themyth that teens who learn about birth control are more likelyto have sex."

Currently, the federal government champions theabstinence-only approach, giving around $170 million each yearto states and community groups to teach kids to say no to sex.This funding precludes mention of birth control and condoms,unless it is to emphasize their failure rates.

Critics have long pointed out that studies have failed toshow that abstinence-only education delays sex or lowers ratesof teen pregnancy.

The current study is the first to compare the effects ofcomprehensive sex ed and abstinence-only education in anational survey, Kohler noted.

Of the teens in the study, two thirds said they hadreceived comprehensive sex education, while about one quarterhad had abstinence-only courses. Just under 10 percent saidthey'd received no formal sex education.

There is now a body of evidence showing that thecomprehensive approach may cut the odds of teen pregnancy,without increasing the likelihood of teens having sex,according to Kohler.

However, she added, "there seems to be a gap betweenscientific evidence and policy change."

SOURCE: Journal of Adolescent Health, April 2008.