Preventing Teenage Pregnancy, Childbearing, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: What the Research Shows

Knowledge, Perceptions, and Motivations for Contraception

“…Our analyses reinforce other program research showing that simply increasing adolescents' knowledge of sex and contraception in the absence of other intervention strategies is not enough to change adolescent behaviors (Kirby, 2001;Manlove et al, 2002). Thus, teens receiving abstinenceonly sex education may be lacking critical skills that could help them reduce their risk of pregnancy and STIs if and when they do become sexually active.…”

“…Family characteristic controls included family structure (two biological or adoptive parents vs. all others) and educational attainment of the more highly educated parent in the family. Previous research has shown that living with two biological parents and having more highly educated parents are associated with better contraceptive use among teens (Brindis, Pagliaro, & Davis, 2000;Manlove et al, 2002). In bivariate analyses, we used a dichotomous measure of parent education to distinguish those with a parent who attended at least some college from those with less educated parents.…”

Adolescents' Sexual Behavior and Academic Attainment

“…Considering timing of first sex within the context of the typical U.S. high school experience and recognizing that it may be a social aspect of (mis)aligned ambitions that influences academic attainment recognizes that early first sex is a high-risk behavior (e.g., Manlove, Terry-Hunman, Papillo, Franzetta, Williams, and Ryan 2002) and an off-time transition that influences adolescents’ educational trajectories through unintended consequences (Elder and Shanahan 2006). That being said, earlier and later sexual initiators are qualitatively different from each other (O’Donnell, O’Donnell, and Stueve 2001) and the consequences of later sexual initiation for academic attainment are less understood—especially as they relate to different attainment thresholds, some of which are more demanding and competitive than others.…”

An Abstinence Program's Impact on Cognitive Mediators and Sexual Initiation

“…However, few evaluations of these programs have been conducted, and there is disagreement about the quality of the research and the meaning of the results. 15,[23][24][25] Yet there appears to be some positive, if mixed, evidence that it is possible to influence US teens to postpone the initiation of sexual intercourse. 15,[24][25][26] This evidence comes from several types of sexuality education programs, both those that take a risk reduction approach and those that promote risk avoidance.…”