What constitutes an effective abstinence education program?

In an effort to reduce the rising numbers of cases of AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies in teens, many communities and schools have developed abstinence education programs. There are many different curriculums and approaches, but no standardized programs.

For the most part, such abstinence education programs are developed at the local level. Few are comprehensive. Input from parents, teachers, physicians and psychologists, along with religious institutions often reflect the prevailing biases and prejudices of individual communities.

With the terrible consequences of these diseases and the long-term effects of unwanted pregnancies becoming ingrained in both the current and future society, perhaps there should be a national forum composed of professionals from every region of the country, to establish abstinence education programs which are comprehensive in nature. As with any research program, all of the pertinent factors must be considered in order to produce the most effective results.

For example, the abstinence only education programs rely on the 'just say no' strategy. The current epidemic of teens with STDs and AIDS, along with unwanted pregnancies, provides abundant proof that this strategy doesn't work. Teens are in a difficult transition period in their lives, with hormones going bananas and lacking in consistent judgment and skills in self discipline. It just doesn't make sense that we should expect these adolescents to 'just say no'. If an overweight adult can not control their desires for food, it's unreasonable to assume that kids will be able to control their hormone-driven passions.

Most teens are raised with some form of religious education, prompting some abstinence education programs for teens to emphasize the moral factor – abstinence until marriage. While this strategy may work for a few, the majority of teens view this approach to be designed to produce guilt. Unfortunately, the guilt factor kicks in only after the fact, making this type of program little better than the 'just say no' strategy.

How about the abstinence vs. safe sex approach? Some educators feel that promoting safe sex will influence teens to at least implement methods that help prevent disease and pregnancy. The implication of this approach is that teens will have sex regardless, so they may as well have a few unreliable methods that may help avoid the consequences. Linking abstinence vs. safe sex in this way is almost a subliminal message, suggesting that safe sex is – safe. More emphasis should be placed on the fact that this is only a half-measure and, in reality, is more like a crap shoot.

A successful abstinence education program has to deal directly with the facts driving the objectives of the program. All of these devastating diseases carry their own consequences. The consequences of getting AIDS are dire, most often resulting in a long and painful death. STDs like genital herpes are incurable and will affect the child for the rest of their life. There are medications to control outbreaks, but these are not fail safe. Statistics show that 20% of the population has this disease. It can be passed to a partner and even to their babies.

Moral issues and abstinence do have a place in the abstinence education programs for teens. However, as Jack Webb of the old 'Dragnet' series was fond of saying, “Just the facts, Ma'am”. The hard facts may well be the most influential in achieving the objectives of the abstinence education programs.