U.S. teen virgin pledges don't work, study reports

William Atkins
Monday, 29 December 2008 20:18

Science - Health

Rosenbaum found that of the teens taking the pledge but still having ex, about 24% of them used a condom. However, of the teens not taking the pledge and having sex, about 34% of them used a condom.

Both groups had the same percentage of getting an sexually transmitted disease.

Dr. Rosenbaum stated, “Taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior. But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking." [Washington Post: “Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds”]

Rosenbaum comments: “This study came about because somebody who decides to take a virginity pledge tends to be different from the average American teenager." [Washington Post]

She adds, "The pledgers tend to be more religious. They tend to be more conservative. They tend to be less positive about sex. There are some striking differences. So comparing pledgers to all non-pledgers doesn't make a lot of sense." [Washington Post]

The Washington Post articles states, according to the Rosenbaum research, “By 2001, Rosenbaum found, 82 percent of those who had taken a pledge had retracted their promises, and there was no significant difference in the proportion of students in both groups who had engaged in any type of sexual activity, including giving or receiving oral sex, vaginal intercourse, the age at which they first had sex, or their number of sexual partners."

It adds, "More than half of both groups had engaged in various types of sexual activity, had an average of about three sexual partners and had had sex for the first time by age 21 even if they were unmarried.” [Washington Post]

Rosenbaum added, "It seems that pledgers aren't really internalizing the pledge. Participating in a program doesn't appear to be motivating them to change their behavior. It seems like abstinence has to come from an individual conviction rather than participating in a program." [Washington Post]

There is much debate and controversy as to whether these government-sponsored virginity pledges actually work or not. It is not likely to be resolved in the short-term.

Additional information on this Rosenbaum study, along with more comments by Dr. Rosenbaum, is found at Fox News “Study teens who pledge abstinence more likely to have unprotected sex.”