No Matter the Approach, Sex Ed Works

Whether its content is abstinence-only or comprehensive, any formal sex education increases the likelihood that teens will delay intercourse until age 15, according to a new report from CDC researchers.

The study is based on the responses of more than 2,000 youths (ages 15 to 19) to the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. It evaluates the effects of having received formal sex education, which includes instruction at schools, churches, and community organizations. Among the findings:

• Boys who had undergone sex education were 71 percent less likely to have sex before age 15. Girls who had received sex education were 59 percent less likely to have sex before age 15.
• Boys who had taken sex education were three times more likely to use contraception at first intercourse. However, no such association was found for girls.

"Formal sex education was particularly beneficial for youths who are traditionally considered to be at high risk for adverse sexual health outcomes, such as sexually transmitted diseases or unplanned pregnancies," said lead author Trisha Mueller, an epidemiologist with CDC's Division of Reproductive Health. "Sex education should be continued to be supported in formal settings, such as schools, and to be the most effective, should occur before youth engage in sexual intercourse for the first time."

Some experts criticized the study for not distinguishing between abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education. Mueller said the nature of the data the researchers analyzed limited their ability to make this distinction.

The report's findings are markedly different from earlier studies, conducted from the 1970s through the 1990s, that suggested sex education had little or no effect on whether teens had sex. Experts say more research is needed to determine the most effective content and implementation methods for sex education.

The full report, "The Association Between Sex Education and Youth's Engagement in Sexual Intercourse, Age at First Intercourse, and Birth Control Use at First Sex," was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health (2007;doi:10.1016/j.adohealth.2007.08.002).

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