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Sex Education Proves Positive for Teens

Med Headlines - According to a new study, teenagers who receive sex education in school are more likely to wait until they are older to have sex for the first time.  The study, the first of its kind in many years, was led by epidemiologist Trisha Mueller of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Mueller says sex education is proving effective especially in populations where risk is high.The study, based on teen responses to surveys, indicates boys are 71% less likely and girls 59% less likely to engage in sexual intercourse before age 15 when they took sex education classes in school. Male respondents were found to be 2.77 times more likely to use birth control methods the first time than males who did not get sex education in the classroom.

Earlier studies, conducted in the 1970s and 1990s, revealed no significant delays in first-time sexual encounters between those getting the education in class versus those that did not.

The current CDC study considered all sex education classes and did not differentiate between classes that taught birth control methods as opposed to those teaching abstinence only.

Commenting on the study, Claire Brindis of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California at San Francisco, said sex education removes the mythology from the act, allowing teens to make wiser choices.

She also implied teens need more help in dealing with real-life issues instead of merely the anatomy and physiology of sexual intercourse. She suggests they could benefit from instruction in what to do in moments of passion when temptation is likely to get the best of good intentions.

Results of the nationwide CDC survey are published in the January 2008 issue of Journal of Adolescent Health.

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