ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

New State Evaluations Show Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Programs Have Little Effect

Additional Analysis of CDC Data Finds Little Change in Teen Sexual Risk Behavior Since Start of Federal Abstinence-Only Initiative

WASHINGTON, DC (September 28, 2004)—Advocates for Youth today released two reports that raise new questions about the effectiveness of the abstinence-only-until-marriage approach to sex education endorsed by the federal government. A review of ten state evaluations of these abstinence-only programs, which teach teens only to "say no," finds no long-term success in delaying sexual initiation or reducing sexual risk-taking behaviors. An independent analysis of recent federal data also shows little reduction in teens' sexual risk behavior nationwide since the federal abstinence-only initiative began.

State Evaluations of Abstinence-only Programs

State evaluations of the abstinence-only federal initiative are just now becoming available. Advocates for Youth's analysis, Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact, covers evaluations from Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington state—the only state evaluations of the Title V initiative available to date.

The review found that abstinence-only programs, which prohibit discussion of the health benefits of condoms and birth control, show little evidence of sustained long-term impact on adolescents' attitudes favoring abstinence or on teens' intentions to abstain. Importantly, in only one of the ten states did any program demonstrate short-term success in delaying the initiation of sex, and none showed long-term success in impacting teen sexual behavior.

"For many young people, abstinence-only programs do not adequately address the complexities of adolescent sexual development," said Debra Hauser, the report's author. "The evaluations showed little short- or long-term impact on young people's sexual behavior."

"Worse, some of the evaluations indicate that abstinence-only programs may have a negative impact on young people's willingness to use contraception or condoms once they do become sexually active," concluded Hauser.

National Data on Teen Sexual Behavior

Advocates for Youth contracted with an independent statistician to analyze data recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about sexual behavior among high school students (grades 9 through 12) from 1991 to 2003. Advocates' report on the analysis of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS), Trends in Sexual Risk Behaviors among High School Students—United States, 1991 to 1997 and 1999 to 2003, found that the much-touted improvements in adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior actually took place from 1991 to 1997. These improvements did not continue into the time period between 1999 and 2003—which corresponds to the first years of the abstinence-only initiative.

Among the specific findings:

• While the proportion of high school students who reported ever having sex dropped 11 percent between 1991 and 1997, there was no statistically significant decline from 1999 to 2003.
• From 1991 to 1997, there was a statistically significant decline in the proportion of male and black high school students who reported current sexual activity (within three months prior to the survey), but that trend did not continue between 1999 and 2003. During both periods, the overall proportion of currently sexually active high school students showed no statistically significant change.
• Between 1991 and 1997, condom use among sexually active young people increased 23 percent. However, the increase in condom use slowed between 1999 and 2003, rising only 9 percent.
• The prevalence of students who reported having had four or more sexual partners declined significantly (14 percent) from 1991 to 1997, but remained unchanged from 1999 to 2003.

(NOTE: Youth Risk Behavior Surveys have been conducted in odd calendar years since 1991.)

"These reports provide further indication that the abstinence-only approach is misguided and should be abandoned," said James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth. "Thirty years of public health research shows—and parents agree—that young people need encouragement and support to delay sex and they need information about condoms and birth control to help them protect themselves when they do become sexually active."

C ongress, meanwhile, is poised to approve a significant increase in funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Since 1998, federal and state governments have spent nearly one billion dollars on this unproven approach to sex education.

"It's time for the federal government to invest in programs based on science and public health research, rather than politics and ideology," concluded Wagoner.

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Advocates for Youth is a national, nonprofit organization that creates programs and supports policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

Note to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.

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