Study Finds 'Virginity Pledges' Do Not Affect Likelihood Of Premarital Sex, Reduce Contraception Use

Teenagers who make "virginity pledges" to remain abstinent until marriage are just as likely as teens who do not make such pledges to have premarital sex and are less likely to use condoms and other birth control methods, according to a study published in the January issue of Pediatrics, the Washington Post reports. Janet Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues analyzed data from the federal government's National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a survey that collected detailed information from a representative sample of 11,000 seventh through 12th grade students in 1995, 1996 and 2001. According to the Post, the new study is the first analysis of the federal survey that used a more stringent method to account for teens' attitudes toward sex before taking virginity pledges and other factors that could influence their behavior. Rosenbaum and colleagues focused on 3,400 students in the federal survey who said in 1995 that they had not had sex or taken a virginity pledge. Of that group, researchers compared 289 students who took virginity pledges in 1996, at an average age of about 17, with 645 similar students who did not take pledges. Similarity was determined through an assessment of about 100 variables, including teens' and their parents' attitudes towards sex and their perceptions of their friends' attitudes toward sex and birth control. The study found that by 2001, 82% of the students who pledged to remain abstinent until marriage had retracted their promises. There was no significant difference in the proportion of students from both groups who had engaged in any type of sexual activity, the age at which they had sex for the first time or their number of sexual partners. Overall, more than half of both groups had engaged in sexual activity; they had an average of three sex partners; and they had had sex for the first time by age 21, regardless of whether they were married. There was no difference in the rate of sexually transmitted infections in the two groups, but students who took virginity pledges and later had sex were less likely than non-pledgers to use condoms or other forms of birth control. The study showed that 24% of students who pledged said that they always used a condom, compared with 34% of students who did not pledge, and students who pledged were about six percentage points less likely to use any form of contraception.

Author Comments

Rosenbaum called the difference in the use of condoms or other birth control methods between the two groups "quite striking." Rosenbaum attributed the difference to the education that students receive in abstinence-focused programs, adding that these programs often provide inaccurate information about condoms and birth control (Stein, Washington Post, 12/29/08). The Bush administration has more than doubled the budget for abstinence-only education programs since 1999, spending $204 million in 2008, Bloomberg reports (Ostrow/Randall, Bloomberg, 12/29/08).














Rosenbaum said, "This study came about because somebody who decides to take a virginity pledge tends to be different from the average American teenager," adding that pledgers tend to be more religious, more conservative and "less positive about sex." She said that comparing pledgers with non-pledgers, as in previous studies, "doesn't make a lot of sense." She continued that participating in a virginity pledge program "doesn't appear to be motivating [teens] to change their behavior," adding that it "seems like abstinence has to come from an individual conviction rather than participating in a program."


Other Comments
According to the Post, proponents of abstinence-only education "dismissed the study as flawed and argued that programs that focus on abstinence go much further than simply asking youths to make a one-time promise to remain virgins." Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association said, "Abstinence education programs provide accurate information on the level of protection offered through the typical use of condoms and contraception." She added, "It is remarkable that an author who employs rigorous research methodology would then compromise those standards by making wild, ideologically tainted and inaccurate analysis regarding the content of abstinence education programs."

However, Sarah Brown of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy said, "This study again raises the issue of why the federal government is continuing to invest in abstinence-only programs," adding, "What have we gained if we only encourage young people to delay sex until they are older, but then when they do become sexually active -- and most do well before marriage -- they don't protect themselves or their partners?" James Wagoner of Advocates for Youth said, "The Democratic Congress needs to get its head out of the sand and get real about sex education in America" (Washington Post, 12/29/08). President-elect Barack Obama has said that he has "consistently" discussed the need for a comprehensive approach to sex education "where we focus on abstinence" and "contraception has to be part of that education process" (Bloomberg, 12/29/08).


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