In the United States, it should be very important to discuss the importance of abstinence among young people of the ages 10 through 25. In industrialized countries, it is very common that teenagers would start indulging in sexual activities at the same age. Studies have proven that adolescences sexual behavior helps to increase self-esteem and identity formation, which helps with the social and romantic interactions in their society. Studies have shown that these behaviors and characteristics are relevant to birth and pregnancy rates, as well as to the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The centers for Disease Control
Teenage sexual activity is a major problem confronting the nation and has led to a rising incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teenage pregnancy. The existence of HIV/AIDS has given a sense of urgency to the topic of sex education. The issue of sex education in schools especially in the formative years has been a subject of intense debate among parents, school officials, health scientists and religious authorities worldwide for a considerable period of time. The debate centers on comprehensive sex education versus abstinence-only sex education in school. Abstinence only sex education is a sex education model that focuses on the virtue of abstinence from sexual activities; therefore, encouraging sexual abstinence until marriage. This form of sexual education completely ignores all other elements of comprehensive sexual education like safe sex and reproductive health education issues like the use of contraceptives and birth control methods. Comprehensive sex teaching encourages promiscuous sexual activity as “a natural part of life.” Proponents of abstinence only education activists cite several reasons why this type of education is the best. It focuses on the upholding of moral virtues. They also claim that sex outside marriage hat is “encouraged” by the comprehensive sex education which as a result, has some emotional and physical downfall especially when done at a very young age. They blame the comprehensive sex education for failing to discourage premarital sex especially at this time when the HIV pandemic is busy devouring young people in various parts of the world (Deborah 2). In fairness, both programs were designed to decrease the incidence of STDs...
Collins, Chris, Priya Alagiri, and Todd Summers. "Abstinence Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education: What Are the Arguments? What Is the Evidence?" AIDS Research Institute. University of California, San Francisco, Mar. 2002. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. .
As teenagers many of us don’t understand the importance of abstinence especially now that we have media influence and peer pressure but the truth is that being bullied and being grief stricken is not cool. Disadvantages of not practicing abstinence are transmission of diseases, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes and HIV/A...
Kirby D. (2007) “Sex and HIV Programs: Their Impact on Sexual Behaviors of Young People Throughout the World.” Journal of Adol
Sexually Transmitted Diseases or STDs are an increasing problem in today’s society. There are many of them and the number is increasing in the youth of the nation. According to a 2000 poll, 18.9 million cases were reported, and of that number, 9.1 million occurred in people between the ages of 15 to 24. America needs to recognize this problem more fully and find a cure for it. Abstinence is one way to help, but what people need to realize is that it is not working.
Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard medical ethics and scientific accuracy, and have been empirically proven to be ineffective; therefore, comprehensive sex education programs which are medically accurate, science-based and empirically proven should be the standard method of sex education for students/children in the U.S.
Teen pregnancy falls into the category of pregnancies in girls age 19 or younger (NIH). Although statistics have shown a decrease, the number of teen pregnancy in the U.S. is still relatively high compared to the rest of the world. Sexual health is one of the top priorities in early adolescence health in the United States. Consequences of having sex at a young age generally results in unsafe sex practices. The consequences can be due to the lack of knowledge about sex education, and access to birth control/contraception (NIH, 2005). Due to the lack of knowledge and access to birth control, adolescents involve in risk taking when they start to explore sexual intimate relationships. Consequences of unsafe sexual behavior include sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy (NIH, 2005). This paper will focus on the majority aspect of pregnancy in adolescent.
DiClemente, R. J., McDermott-Sales, J., Danner, F., Crosby, R. A. (2011). Association Between Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Young Adults’ Self-Reported Abstinence. Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. February, 2011; 127: 208-213.
As young children, ages 12 and up to 17, one should be worrying about going to sports tryouts, having bubble guts worrying if they are going to make the cheerleading team or the basketball team. They should be outside in the summer time taking in the beautiful weather with their friends. Many teenagers are starting to build relationships with the opposite sex as early as 12 or 13. With relationships come other new experiences like sexual intercourses. “Fewer than 2% of adolescents have had sex by the time they reach their 12th birthday. But adolescence is a time of rapid change. Only 16% of teens have had sex by age 15, compared with one-third of those aged 16, nearly half (48%) of those aged 17, 61% of 18-year-olds and 71% of 19-year-olds.[1]
Not surprisingly the lack of useful sexual information is one of the reasons of the spreading sex related diseases. According to The American Social Health Association (1998) each year there are near ten million of new cases of sexually transmitted diseases among the teenage...
During the 1980s, efforts increased to alert the public to the dangers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended pregnancy, yet these problems have increased. Adolescents and young adults have been especially hard hit. Pregnancy and birth rates among teenagers are at their highest levels in two decades.
“10,000 young people contract a Sexually Transmitted Disease, more than 2,400 teens became pregnant and about 48 contract HIV” (Ballard and Ginsburg). Teens should know the risk of STD’s that can occur to them along with the tragic physical and emotional cost. No teen should find themselves in a situation where they feel uneducated or unprepared on the subject of sexual relations. Abstinence education will help give a better understanding to the many pro and cons that come with sex. Many times when the topic is not covered, it results in negative outcomes due to the lack of knowledge. Abstinence education and providing condoms should be allowed in today's society to help give students a better understanding so they are prepared to make make
The government likes to pretend that if high school students get taught the “abstinence-only” method they would never think of taking part in sexual activities. Statistically this is incorrect. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “56 percent of high school students are virgins”(Martin). For the 56 percent abstinence only is doing them well, but there are still 44 percent of high school students engaging in sex without knowing the precau...
With all the emphasis on the importance of using condoms and birth control to ensure safer sex, teens feel an intelligent choice is being overlooked, and many teenagers don’t understand the responsibilities that go along with being sexually active. Abstinence is the practice of holding back from some or all aspects of sexual activity for different reasons, some being medical, psychological, legal, social or religious. Even though many teens already know the consequences of sex, they don't need to wait, abstinence is the safest and smartest option for teens these days.
Three million teenagers will contract a sexually transmitted disease and one in three women will become pregnant before they are twenty years old. Teens are contracting sexually transmitted diseases and getting pregnant at an alarming rate causing the government, schools, and parents to scratch their heads. America is the country with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world. Many are wondering what can be done to stop this. A debate has been going on about whether abstinence only education is doing any good for high school students in America. Abstinence only education teaches teenagers to abstain from all sexual acts until they are married. It does not teach about pregnancy or the different types of contraceptives that are available to prevent pregnancy. On the other hand, there is safe sex education. Safe sex education teaches teenagers facts about intercourse they need to know, acknowledges the potential consequences or risks of sexual behavior, and helps them make better decisions to protect themselves and their bodies.