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TREND TOWARD ABSTINENCE-ONLY SEX ED MEANS MANY U.S. TEENAGERS ARE NOT GETTING VITAL MESSAGES ABOUT CONTRACEPTION
Sex Ed Teachers Believe They Are Not Meeting Students' Needs for Reproductive Health Information-One in Four Are Told Not to Teach About Contraception
Public school sexuality education teachers report that the focus on abstinence-only instruction increased markedly during the 1990s: In 1999, 23% of these teachers taught abstinence as the only way of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), compared with 2% in 1988, according to a new study by The Alan Guttmacher Institute. While some topics-HIV and other STDs, abstinence, correct condom use and how to resist peer pressure to have intercourse-are being taught earlier than they were a decade ago, most are still taught less often and in later grades than teachers think they should be. Moreover, instruction in all grades is much less likely to cover birth control, abortion, how to obtain contraceptive and STD services, and sexual orientation than it was in the late 1980s.
"Teachers on the front line in high schools around the country recognize that young people need a range of information to support them in making responsible decisions regarding their sexuality," comments AGI President Sara Seims. "Yet this study reveals that teachers are covering far less, far later than they believe is needed. Our findings are particularly disheartening, considering that abstinence accounted for about one-quarter of the recent drop in the U.S. teenage pregnancy rate, while improved contraceptive use was responsible for the rest. And the teenage pregnancy rate and adolescent rates of STDs remain high. Abstinence messages are very important, but clearly the coverage of contraceptive topics is also crucial in helping our youth prevent unplanned pregnancy and STDs."
The study, "Changing Emphases in Sexuality Education in U.S. Public Secondary Schools, 1988-1999," by Jacqueline E. Darroch, David J. Landry and Susheela Singh, is published in the September/October 2000 issue of the Institute's bimonthly professional journal, Family Planning Perspectives-a special issue devoted to sexuality education.
The new study presents findings from two nationally representative surveys of 7th-12th- grade public school teachers of subjects that usually include sexuality education. The surveys, conducted in 1988 and 1999, each included about 4,000 teachers. Most of the information in the 1999 analysis is from a subset of 1,767 teachers who actually taught sexuality education in recent years. This group represents an estimated 81,000 teachers and school nurses currently responsible for teaching sexuality education in grades 7-12.
When asked what they consider their most important messages, four in 10 teachers in 1999 cited abstinence, up from one in four in 1988. Seven in 10 teachers think that students who receive education that stresses abstinence are less likely to have intercourse than students who do not. At the same time, 86% think that students who are taught to use contraceptives if they are sexually active are more likely to do so than are students who do not receive similar instruction. While teachers now consider that contraception should be taught later than they did in the late 1980s, 93% still favor covering it; half believe it should be taught in grade seven or earlier. Yet one in four teachers are told not to teach the topic.
The vast majority of teachers believe that sexuality education courses should also cover where to go for birth control (89%), factual information and ethical issues about abortion (84-89%), the correct way to use a condom (82%) and sexual orientation (78%). However, gaps between teachers' recommendations and actual coverage of these topics are large-24-30 percentage points. Other key findings from the 1999 survey include the following:
• One-third of teachers said they had to be careful about what they taught because of the possibility of adverse community reactions.
• One-quarter of teachers said that information their students needed was not in the curriculum they followed.
• Six in 10 teachers who taught an abstinence-only approach presented no information about contraceptive methods or taught that they are ineffective.
AGI Senior Research Associate David Landry comments of the study findings, "In today's environment, where teenagers are exposed to so many influences, beneficial and otherwise, school-based sexuality education is an essential source of factual information. It is also an important place for building decision-making skills and learning concepts that are important for healthy sexuality. Students need early and balanced information to best prepare them to make the responsible choices necessary to prevent STDs and unplanned pregnancy."
The September/October issue of Family Planning Perspectives also features these studies:
"Sexuality Education in Fifth and Sixth Grades in U.S. Public Schools, 1999," by researchers David J. Landry, Susheela Singh and Jacqueline E. Darroch of AGI, presents findings from a 1999 nationally representative survey of 1,789 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers. It illustrates that large proportions of schools are doing little to prepare students for puberty or for dealing with pressures and decisions regarding sexual activity. Furthermore, fifth- and sixth-grade sexuality education teachers often feel unsupported by the community, parents or school administrators.
"Adolescents' Reports of Reproductive Health Education, 1988 and 1995," by Laura Duberstein Lindberg, Leighton Ku and Freya Sonenstein of The Urban Institute, examines changes between the late 1980s and mid-1990s in U.S. teenage males' reports of the prevalence, content and timing of their reproductive health education-both from formal, school-based instruction and from their parents. The researchers explore differences in education by age, race and ethnicity, and compare young men's reports of their formal education in the 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males with teenage females' reports in the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth.
Overall, a smaller share of adolescent males than females reported receiving reproductive health education in 1995, and young men were less likely than young women to receive instruction prior to intercourse. The proportion of young men who reported having received formal reproductive health education before first intercourse was one-third higher in 1995 (70%) than in 1988 (53%). Still, one in three had received no instruction before their first intercourse (with non-Hispanic blacks less likely than non-Hispanic white or Hispanic young men).
The issue also features several other new research analyses and commentaries from a range of leading authorities, including a viewpoint, "Sexuality Education: Our Current Status, and an Agenda for 2010," by Susan Wilson, and a forum of three commentaries exploring sexuality education outside of school.
Also see prior news releases:
United States And The Russian Federation Lead The Developed World In Teenage Pregnancy Rates
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