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Majority of Young Adults Support Abstinence Education

By Gudrun Schultz

WASHINGTON D.C., United States, January 24, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A majority of young people ages 18 to 29 say they believe abstinence programs are an effective approach to teaching healthy sexuality.

According to a new Harris poll, 56 percent of people ages 18 to 24, and 60 percent of people ages 25 to 29 say abstinence programs are effective at preventing or reducing HIV/AIDS infections. 49 percent of people ages 18 to 24 and 52 percent ages 25 to 29 say the programs help to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

 "The most striking, and surely the most important differences among various demographic groups are the differences between younger and older adults," the poll states. "Adults under the age of 30 are more likely to believe that abstinence programs are effective, and it is of course these adults who are the main targets for the programs."

However, a majority of older adults said they did not think abstinence was a successful method to reducing sexual disease and unwanted pregnancies, said the poll.

Support for abstinence continued to deteriorate as increasingly older groups were polled. 43 percent of those ages 30 to 39 thought abstinence was effective against HIV/AIDS. That number dropped down to 41 percent among those ages 40 to 49, and fell to 37 percent for those older than 65.

The poll was conducted among 1, 961 adults during December 2005.

Students who participated in abstinence-only education under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed greater support for abstinence and more awareness of the dangers inherent with early sexual activity, in a majority of cases.

The HHS has been helping more than 50 communities over 22 states develop abstinence programs to combat the problems associated with teenage promiscuity.
    
The Washington Times reported Jan. 22 that researchers at Ohio's Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found similar results from the abstinence-until-marriage program For Keeps.

"Abstinence-only intervention can influence knowledge, beliefs and intentions, and among sexually experienced students may reduce the prevalence of casual sex," said epidemiologist Elaine Borawski.

See related coverage:

New Study Finds Abstinence Pays Off in the Long Run
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05050607.html

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