Are you sure... or was it that you simply couldn't find it in a two minute google search and assumed that was the case.

Cause i mean... from the article

The study appears in the February edition of Archives of Pediatrics&Adolescent Medicine. It was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and involved 662 black children in Philadelphia.

Which if you go to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archives_of_Pediatrics_%26_Adolescent_Medicine

The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association. It publishes original clinical and basic research articles covering all aspects of pediatric primary care. The journal was established in 1911 as the American Journal of Diseases of Children and obtained its current title in the early 1990s.

So no... the details of the study CAN be found somewhere and HAS been peer reviewed with tested methods.

The heck... in like the span of 2 seconds, 50 more posts appeared for me. Must be a site bug?

Anyway, anyone who doesn't think Absistence education doesn't work, is as dumb as people who WANT abistence ONLY education.

Absitence education is the most successful education.  It's just not perfect.  Hence why you want to teach ways to safeguard vs those still stupid enough to go through with it at a young age.

Abstinence education is like saying to people don't do drugs...

You don't think telling people to not do drugs and teaching them the negative effects of drugs stops a decent number of people from doing it?

In a society where nobody suggests drugs have any negative effects and there is nothing wrong with taking drugs you expect drug use to be lower.  IE a situation where there is literally NO reason to NOT do drugs?

Here's a question...

do more people or less people smoke now, then they did before we started campaigns for people not to smoke and people were informed about the negative effects of smoking?

If you don't know... Canada as an example.

It's really even more pronounced in the US as far as I can tell, hard to find a good article on it though.

I disagree that abstinence education is the most succesful. The most succesful thing in bringing down STD rates and pregnancy rates surely has to be condoms and education about them?

But in any case, abstinence education should definitely be included as part of a wider sexual education. It's just abstinence only education that doesn't work.

I really don't see where this debate can go. Human psychology, adolescent behavior, and biology are all conspiring against you. See, it's human nature to want to do something you're told not to, or on the flipside not to do something you were told to. for example, say you were about to go clean your room or do dishes on your own will, the second someone says "do the dishes" you no longer want to do them because it was no longer your idea. On the flipside, someone tells you, "Don't do this stupid stunt", the first thing most will do is go out and do the stunt, just to prove people wrong. Giving someone a command is a surefire way to ensure they do the opposite, which is why "reverse psychology" became so popular.

On top of natural human nature, combo that with human biology and the period the targets are at. Most of these abstinence only campaigns are aimed at teens....the most volatile time in a person's life. they're going through or have just gone through puberty and are filled to the brim with hormones. Not only do these hormones and changes give them a natural desire to bone, but it also intensifies their desire to rebel and become their on person, further pushing rebellious, anti-authority behavior.

Telling a teenager not to have sex, and even showing them what can go wrong, will only intensify their desire to prove you wrong and do it anyway. Those who DO listen and abstain tend to either be remarkably submissive or lash out later in life.

Abstinence can be good if the person in question desired it on their own. the FREEDOM to make a decision is the most important thing to an adolescent (and even most adults), and that's why the only logical thing to do is educate them properly about the pros and cons, and how to be safe. Respect them, and they will respect you. Hell, I'm in my mid-20's and I still go out of my way to do things people told me not to just to spite them or prove them wrong, kids are even worse!

Hmmm kasz howbout those teen rates of smoking?

Kasz i dont tbinl a single person in this thread has said abstinence education doesnt work.

Rather, and maybe you missed it somehow, the consensus is that abstinence ONLY edication is a complete failure. Additionally people like myself have pointed this specific example as another demonstration of the inadequacies of religious leadership.

I can be abstinent, as long as someone's mouth works. ^_^ You know, to start up great conversations.

Except in this case you're telling teens not to do something that every Adult do and that is proeminent in every media..