A national survey was conducted to gauge the nature of school based sex education that was most effective, and it was found that mere abstinence based approaches did not meet with the desired results. Infact Americans feel that youngsters in schools need to know much more than just avoiding sex , which includes methods to prevent pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
"Abstinence-only programs, while a priority of the federal government, are supported by neither a majority of the public nor the scientific community," they said.The Abstinence-only sex education is not as effective as Abstinence-plus, or comprehensive, programs that seek to educate on contraception and protection against sexually transmitted disease as well as stress the importance of abstinence. Such programs are far more successful and may even inspire a postponement of the first sexual experience, and may contribute towards bringing down the frequency of sex and unprotected sex, and even reduce the number of sexual partners.
The researchers concluded, "Our results indicate that U.S. adults, regardless of political ideology, favor a more balanced approach to sex education compared with the abstinence only programs funded by the federal government. With such high support for comprehensive sex education among the public from liberals, conservatives, and moderates alike, political leaders could capitalize on this rare occasion to enact public policy that is supported by both sound scientific evidence as well as public opinion."
Source-Medindia
SAV
