SEX STATISTICS - Abstinence

The following statistics are from The National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Familes, and can be found at www.nationalcoalition.org

Internet Pornography	Pornography in the Workplace	Pornography and Children	Pornographic Cable Television and Videos
Pornography
Teens and sex STD's	Teens and sex STD's and HIV	Teens and sex Condoms	Teens and sex Abstinence
Teen Pregnancy	Teen Sex	Teen Sex and Parents	Teen Sex Oral Sex
Marriage and Family Cohabitation/ Premarital Sex	Same Sex Marriage	Marriage and Family	Extra-Marital Affairs
Single Parent Households	Single Adults	Religion	Portrayals of Sex in the Media
Sexually Oriented Business (SOB)	Entertainment/Technology/ Advertising/Emerging/Technology		Radio
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Abstinence

• There are over 1,000 abstinence-until-marriage programs around the United States and 1/3 of public middle and high schools say that abstinence is ‘the main message in their sex education.’ Abstinence Until Marriage: The Best Message for Teens, Bridget E. Maher.  Family Research Council, 7 September 2004.
• The abstinence education program Choosing the Best is 47% more effective at delaying a teen’s first sexual encounter than condom-promoting sex education programs
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  November 2004.  www.cdc.gov.
• Adolescents who take virginity pledges:
  • Are less likely to experience teen pregnancy; Are less likely to be sexually active while in high school and as young adults; Are less likely to give birth as teens or young adults; Are less likely to give birth out of wedlock; Are less likely to engage in risky unprotected sex; and
  • Will have fewer sexual partners.
    
  Teens Who Make Virginity Pledges Have Substantially Improved Life Outcomes, Robert Rector, Kirk Johnson, and Jennifer Marshall.  The Heritage Foundation, 21 September 2004.
• The decade’s 33% drop in teenage pregnancy can be attributed to sexual abstinence (53%) and improved contraceptive use (47%)Journal of Adolescent Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  August, 2004.  www.teenpregnancy.org.
• About 11% of males and 13% of females have taken virginity pledges Tenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, 2002. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC.  December 2004.
• Federal appropriations for abstinence-only education programs have exceeded $1 billion since 1982 and over $200 million was proposed by President Bush for federal fiscal year 2006 alone. State of the Nation: Challenges Facing STD Prevention in Youth.  American Social Health Association, 2005
• A 2001 study of 6,800 students showed that virgins who took an abstinence pledge were likely to abstain from sex for 18 months longer than those who did not take the pledge. Sex in the Body of Christ, Lauren F. Winner.  Christianity Today, May 2005.
• A 2003 Northern Kentucky University study showed that 61% of students who signed sexual-abstinence commitment cards broke their pledges. Of the remaining 39% who kept their pledges, 55% said they’d had oral sex, and did not consider oral sex to be sex. A roughly equivalent percentage of self-identified evangelical college students said they do not consider anal intercourse to be sex. Sex in the Body of Christ, Lauren F. Winner.  Christianity Today, May 2005.
• Young adults who made virginity pledges as teens ultimately have rates of STDs similar to young adults who did not make such promises as teens and were less likely to use contraception or protection when they do become sexually active. Promising the future: virginity pledges and the transition to first intercourse, Peter S. Bearman and Hannah Bruckner.  American Journal of Sociology, 2001.