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Not to derail things. But how true is this? I know people say that. But i find it hard to believe someone would commission, publish and report on a study that says Catholic abstinance sexed in fact reduces pregnant, harm, whatever.
I know you said “not teaching about sex” which is a straw man version of the argument.
I have no idea. But I could easily imagine how a religious abstinence approach is superior to the modern public school insanity that is sex and gender.
Wildly not true. If you'd like to know more, you can consult the considerable literature on the subject:
Underhill, Operario, Montgomery Cochrane systematic review (2007). This is one of the strongest reviews: 13 randomized or quasi-randomized trials, 15,940 U.S. youth. It found no consistent effect of abstinence-only programs on unprotected vaginal sex, frequency of sex, number of partners, sexual initiation, or condom use, and concluded the trials suggested these programs were ineffective in high-income settings.
Denford et al. review of systematic reviews (2017). This “review of reviews” covered 37 systematic reviews summarizing 224 randomized controlled trials. Its conclusion was explicit: abstinence-only interventions were ineffective at producing positive changes in sexual behavior, while comprehensive interventions were effective.
Chin et al. / Community Preventive Services Task Force (2012). Their systematic review/meta-analytic work found insufficient/inconsistent evidence to conclude that group-based abstinence education works, whereas comprehensive risk-reduction interventions were found effective.
Trenholm et al. / Mathematica federal evaluation (2007). This congressionally mandated evaluation of four Title V abstinence programs found the programs had no effect on youths’ sexual abstinence and that participants were no more likely to have unprotected sex.
Kirby, review of 56 studies (2008). Kirby found that most abstinence programs did not delay initiation of sex and only 3 of 9 abstinence programs showed any significant positive effect on any sexual behavior. By contrast, about two thirds of comprehensive programs showed strong evidence of benefit.
Kohler, Manhart, Lafferty (2008). In a population-level analysis, abstinence-only education showed no significant effect on teen pregnancy or vaginal intercourse, while comprehensive sex education was associated with lower teen pregnancy risk. It also found that teaching contraception was not associated with more adolescent sexual activity or STDs
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Actually I’ve heard the relevant group to study on this is the Mormons and statistics on citizens in Utah. They also have one of the highest adoption rates in the country. It’s less about preventing it from happening and controlling for the context in how it happens such that it’s intentional.
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