Give whatever name to it you want: “abstinence vows” or “viginity pledges” or “virginity contracts”, it just doesn’t matter. And you goddamned well know that the latest label, “purity rings”, makes no difference either.
Teen abstinence programs don’t work.
When it comes to pledges of abstinence “no pledge” is every bit as effective as “any pledge” or even a hundred of them.
These programs and pledges do accomplish two things, however, one of which is meaningless and one of which is terribly dangerous: (1) they make nervous parents “feel” better, and (2) the kids who make these kinds of pledges are far less likely to use any form of protection against either pregnancy or the spread of disease when they do have sex. Good job.
Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds:
Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.
The new analysis of data from a large federal survey found that more than half of youths became sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they had taken a “virginity pledge,” but that the percentage who took precautions against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases was 10 points lower for pledgers than for non-pledgers.
“Taking a pledge doesn’t seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior,” said Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose report appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. “But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking.”
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