More Effective Strategies

Recent studies and reports have shown that young people can be effectively taught to abstain and seek a life-long commitment.  The U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce which serves as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public's health and marketplace interests reports that Sexual Risk Avoidance is a better approach to teenage pregnancy prevention (July 2012).  See Report (pdf) 

Furthermore, Abstinence education in the classroom is the method preferred by both parents and students according to the Obama Administration's 2009 National Survey of Adolescents and Their Parents entitled "Attitudes and Opinions about Sex and Abstinence".  See summary (pdf). 

Best practices involve:

• clear parental expectations, communication and values
• the practice of religion
• abstinence education in the classroom.

Additonal Reading:

Efficacy of a Theory-Based Abstinence-Only Intervention Over 24 Months - A Randomized Controlled Trial with Young Adults (pdf)

The Physical and Emotional Consequences of Extra-Marital Sexual Behavior - by Dr. Shirley Gonzalez (pdf)