Many Teens Who Take 'Virginity Pledges' Substitute Other High-Risk Behavior for Intercourse, Study Says
Main Category: Sexual Health / STDsArticle Date: 21 Mar 2005 - 21:00 PDT
Many Teens Who Take 'Virginity Pledges' Substitute Other High-Risk Behavior for Intercourse, Study Says
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Although teenagers who take "virginity pledges" begin engaging in vaginal intercourse later than teens who have not committed to remain abstinent until marriage, they also are more likely to engage in oral or anal sex than nonpledging virgin teens and less likely to use condoms once they become sexually active, according to a study published in the April issue of the... Journal of Adolescent Health, the Washington Post reports. The findings could explain why pledgers have similar rates of sexually transmitted diseases as nonpledging teens (Connolly, Washington Post, 3/19). Study co-authors Peter Bearman, sociology department chair at Columbia University, and Hannah Bruckner of Yale University used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and CDC, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports. The national study surveyed students nationwide in grades seven through 12 and followed up with interviews one, two and six years later. The Yale and Columbia report looked at data from 12,000 teenagers (Apuzzo, AP/Long Island Newsday, 3/18).
STD Findings
Bearman and Bruckner in March 2004 at the 2004 National STD Prevention Conference in Philadelphia presented their findings that teens who make abstinence pledges have similar rates of STDs as teens who have not made pledges. The study -- also based on data from the NLSAH -- found that, although teens who made the pledges had sexual intercourse an average of 18 months later than teens who did not take a pledge and averaged fewer sexual partners overall, they had similar rates of STDs. In addition, the study found that pledgers were much less likely to use contraception the first time they had sex and also were less likely than other teens to have undergone STD testing and know their STD status, which could increase their risk of STD transmission to sexual partners (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 3/10/04). Of the 777 teens who reported being virginity pledgers throughout the course of the study, 4.6% had trichomoniasis, chlamydia or gonorrhea. Of the 1,622 who reported pledge to remain abstinent at some point during the study, 6.4% had one of the STDs. Of the 9,072 teens who did not ever make a virginity pledge, 6.9% had one of the STDs (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 3/19). The study did not reveal significant geographical differences but did show that minorities were "far more likely" to have an STD, according to the Post. About 25% of African-American girls had at least one STD in 2002, the study found (Washington Post, 3/19).
Details
Because pledgers typically delayed sexual activity, had fewer sexual partners and married earlier than nonpledgers, the researchers "looked for explanations" as to why the differences in STD rates were not statistically significant, Bearman said, the Times reports (Washington Times, 3/19). The gap between pledgers and nonpledgers for high-risk behavior was statistically significant, with 2% of virgins who did not pledge reporting engaging in anal or oral sex, compared with 13% of those who did pledge (Washington Post, 3/19). According to Bruckner, the pledgers' increased likelihood of substituting oral or anal sex for vaginal intercourse puts them at risk of contracting STDs, according to Bruckner. Among virgins, boys who had pledged abstinence were four times as likely to have engaged in anal sex as those who did not pledge, and pledgers overall were six times as likely to have engaged in oral sex as teens who were virgins but did not take a pledge, the study found. In addition, teens who made virginity pledges were less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience and were less likely to get tested for STDs, the study found (Detroit Free Press, 3/19).
Conclusions
"Advocates for abstinence-only education assert that premarital abstinence and post-marital sex are necessary and sufficient for avoiding negative consequences of sexual activity, such as STDs," the study says, adding, "This assertion collides with the realities of adolescents' and young adults' lives." As a result, abstinence-only education is insufficient to prevent teens from contracting STDs, Bruckner said, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. "It can't be enough because eventually, even the most abstinent adolescents, the great majority of them will have sex. ... We need to provide education that helps in dealing with it when they do it," Bruckner said (Mahoney, Globe and Mail, 3/19). "The sad story is that kids who are trying to preserve their technical virginity are, in some cases, engaging in much riskier behavior," Bearman said, adding, "From a public health point of view, an abstinence movement that encourages no vaginal sex may inadvertently encourage other forms of alternative sex that are at higher risk of STDs" (Washington Post, 3/19).
Reaction
"Not only do virginity pledges not work to keep our young people safe, they are causing harm by undermining condom use, contraception and medical treatment," William Smith, policy director at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, said (Washington Times, 3/19). Deborah Roffman, an educator and author, said that teens who take virginity pledges "are often undereducated about sexual health" and will engage in oral or anal sex because they do not consider it "real sex," according to the Post (Washington Post, 3/19). However, Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, called the study "bogus" and said that the supposed pledgers had not pledged true abstinence, which forbids oral and anal sex (AP/Long Island Newsday, 3/18). Robert Rector, an analyst at the Heritage Institute, said that the study overlooked previous findings about teens who take virginity pledges -- including that they usually have fewer pregnancies and out-of-wedlock births -- adding that the programs are "hugely successful" in those areas (Washington Post, 3/19).
Chicago Tribune Examines Virginity Pledges
The Chicago Tribune on Sunday examined virginity pledges and the recent "craze" of "purity rings" that many teenagers wear to proclaim their abstinence-until-marriage pledge. Despite the recent surge in purity rings and abstinence programs -- some of which receive federal funding under the Bush administration -- teen health experts say that most teens will break their pledges before they are married. In addition, these health experts also say there is no "reliable evidence" that the programs reduce teen pregnancy or the spread of STDs, according to the Tribune (Bario, Chicago Tribune, 3/20). The complete article is available online.
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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