"Proponents of abstinence-only sex education declared victory earlier this month after a study from the University of Pennsylvania found that a program for Philadelphia sixth and seventh graders deterred young teens from having sex.
Abstinence Clearinghouse, an advocacy group, proclaimed on its Web site that the study proved 'comprehensive sex ed a big flop.'
Not so fast, says the study's lead author, Penn sociologist John Jemmott.
Jemmott's study, published in this month's issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, examined an abstinence program that would not have qualified for federal funding during the Bush administration. Those programs required an emphasis on abstaining until marriage, whereas Jemmott's involved no preaching and no denigrating the effectiveness of contraception."
Abstinence Clearinghouse, an advocacy group, proclaimed on its Web site that the study proved 'comprehensive sex ed a big flop.'
Not so fast, says the study's lead author, Penn sociologist John Jemmott.
Jemmott's study, published in this month's issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, examined an abstinence program that would not have qualified for federal funding during the Bush administration. Those programs required an emphasis on abstaining until marriage, whereas Jemmott's involved no preaching and no denigrating the effectiveness of contraception."
