Women in the United States are much more likely to become mothers as teens than those in other rich countries. Teen births are particularly likely to be reported as unintended, leading to debate over ...whether better information on sex and contraception might lead to reductions in teen births. We contribute to this debate by providing causal evidence at the population level. Our causal identification strategy exploits county-level variation in the timing and receipt of federal funding for more comprehensive sex education and data on age-specific teen birth rates at the county level constructed from birth certificate natality data covering all births in the United States. Our results show that federal funding for more comprehensive sex education reduced county-level teen birth rates by more than 3%. Our findings thus complement the mixed evidence to date from randomized control trials on teen pregnancies and births by providing population-level causal evidence that federal funding for more comprehensive sex education led to reductions in teen births.
The State of Sex Education in the United States Hall, Kelli Stidham, Ph.D., M.S; McDermott Sales, Jessica, Ph.D., M.A; Komro, Kelli A., Ph.D., M.P.H ...
Journal of adolescent health,
06/2016, Letnik:
58, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Adolescence is marked by the emergence of human sexuality, sexual identity, and the initiation of intimate relations; within this context, abstinence from sexual intercourse can be a healthy choice. ...However, programs that promote abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) or sexual risk avoidance are scientifically and ethically problematic and—as such—have been widely rejected by medical and public health professionals. Although abstinence is theoretically effective, in actual practice, intentions to abstain from sexual activity often fail. Given a rising age at first marriage around the world, a rapidly declining percentage of young people remain abstinent until marriage. Promotion of AOUM policies by the U.S. government has undermined sexuality education in the United States and in U.S. foreign aid programs; funding for AOUM continues in the United States. The weight of scientific evidence finds that AOUM programs are not effective in delaying initiation of sexual intercourse or changing other sexual risk behaviors. AOUM programs, as defined by U.S. federal funding requirements, inherently withhold information about human sexuality and may provide medically inaccurate and stigmatizing information. Thus, AOUM programs threaten fundamental human rights to health, information, and life. Young people need access to accurate and comprehensive sexual health information to protect their health and lives.
The United States ranks first among developed nations in rates of both teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In an effort to reduce these rates, the U.S. government has funded ...abstinence-only sex education programs for more than a decade. However, a public controversy remains over whether this investment has been successful and whether these programs should be continued. Using the most recent national data (2005) from all U.S. states with information on sex education laws or policies (N = 48), we show that increasing emphasis on abstinence education is positively correlated with teenage pregnancy and birth rates. This trend remains significant after accounting for socioeconomic status, teen educational attainment, ethnic composition of the teen population, and availability of Medicaid waivers for family planning services in each state. These data show clearly that abstinence-only education as a state policy is ineffective in preventing teenage pregnancy and may actually be contributing to the high teenage pregnancy rates in the U.S. In alignment with the new evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative and the Precaution Adoption Process Model advocated by the National Institutes of Health, we propose the integration of comprehensive sex and STD education into the biology curriculum in middle and high school science classes and a parallel social studies curriculum that addresses risk-aversion behaviors and planning for the future.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Responding to adolescents' educational needs in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is central to their sexual health and achieved through school-based comprehensive sexuality education ...(CSE). In 2016, Rwanda introduced CSE through the competence-based curriculum in schools to enhance learners' knowledge about sexuality, gender, and reproductive health issues, including HIV/AIDS. However, globally, the content of CSE is sometimes dissimilar, and little evidence surrounds its scope in many settings, including Rwanda. In addition, the extent to which CSE aligns with international guidelines has yet to be well known. This study assesses major areas of CSE for early adolescents in Rwanda, analyses how CSE correlates with international guidelines and makes recommendations accordingly.
We reviewed the Rwandan competence-based curriculum to map CSE competences for early adolescents and conducted semi-structured interviews with key informants (N = 16). Eleven of the 23 curriculum documents met the selection criteria and were included in the final review. We manually extracted data using a standard form in Microsoft Excel and analysed data using frequency tables and charts. Interviews were thematically analysed in NVivo 11 for Windows.
We found 58 CSE competences for early adolescents across various subjects, increasing with school grades. All recommended CSE areas were addressed but to a variable extent. Most competences fall under four recommended areas: sexual and reproductive health; human body and development; values, rights, and sexuality; and understanding gender. The least represented area is violence and staying safe. Of the 27 expected topics, there are two to six CSE competences for 13 topics, one CSE competence for each of the six others, and none for the eight remaining ones. Qualitative findings support these findings and suggest additional content on locally controversial but recommended areas of sexual pleasure, orientation, desire and modern contraceptive methods.
This study explores the CSE content for early adolescents in Rwanda and how they align with sexuality education standards. Ensuring equal coverage of CSE areas and addressing missing topics may improve CSE content for this age group and foster their SRHR.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
ObjectivesSex and relationship education (SRE) is regarded as vital to improving young people’s sexual health, but a third of schools in England lacks good SRE and government guidance is outdated. We ...aimed to identify what makes SRE programmes effective, acceptable, sustainable and capable of faithful implementation.DesignThis is a synthesis of findings from five research packages that we conducted (practitioner interviews, case study investigation, National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, review of reviews and qualitative synthesis). We also gained feedback on our research from stakeholder consultations.SettingsPrimary research and stakeholder consultations were conducted in the UK. Secondary research draws on studies worldwide.ResultsOur findings indicate that school-based SRE and school-linked sexual health services can be effective at improving sexual health. We found professional consensus that good programmes start in primary school. Professionals and young people agreed that good programmes are age-appropriate, interactive and take place in a safe environment. Some young women reported preferring single-sex classes, but young men appeared to want mixed classes. Young people and professionals agreed that SRE should take a ‘life skills’ approach and not focus on abstinence. Young people advocated a ‘sex-positive’ approach but reported this was lacking. Young people and professionals agreed that SRE should discuss risks, but young people indicated that approaches to risk need revising. Professionals felt teachers should be involved in SRE delivery, but many young people reported disliking having their teachers deliver SRE and we found that key messages could become lost when interpreted by teachers. The divergence between young people and professionals was echoed by stakeholders. We developed criteria for best practice based on the evidence.ConclusionsWe identified key features of effective and acceptable SRE. Our best practice criteria can be used to evaluate existing programmes, contribute to the development of new programmes and inform consultations around statutory SRE.
Most sexual education programs traditionally focused on providing sexual information regarding the risks of sex. However, current studies on sexual behavior in youth show a need for truly ...comprehensive sex education approaches with a sex-positive focus on sexuality, that effectively improve sexual competence. Therefore, in the current study the effectiveness of
“Love is…”
, a four lesson school-based program based on the Sexual Interactional Competence model and Attitude-Social-Influence-Self-Efficacy-model was studied. A cluster-randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of
“Love is…”
was conducted in 2018-2020. The sample consisted of 1160 adolescents in grades 8 and 9 from nine schools in the Netherlands. The sample was 48% female, 34% Dutch/Caucasian, 41% none-religious and 50% higher educated. They were randomized at class level into a program group
n
= 32 classes; 567 students (
M
age
= 13.74 (
SD
= 0.74)) and a control group
n
= 31 classes; 593 students (
M
age
= 13.86 (
SD
= 0.73)). Results showed that “
Love is…”
increased sexual knowledge, that adolescents in the program group showed less cyber victim blaming attitudes and increased in communications skills after the program. In conclusion, the current study shows that
“Love is…”
was effective not only on the knowledge level, but also regarding sexual attitudes and competences. However, due to the developmental process of sexuality, there is a necessity to continue lessons in following grades through booster sessions by reinforcing competences as communicating comfortably about sexuality.
On 12 November 2019 the study design and hypotheses were registered in the Dutch Trial Registration, number NL8150. (
https://onderzoekmetmensen.nl/nl/trial/26676
).
Background: Teenage pregnancy prevalence is at 25%, 16% of Ugandan women are married by the age of 15 years, and 53% by the age of 18 years. Available information reveals that teenage pregnancies ...carry a higher health risk and girls under 15 years are five times more likely to die in childbirth than females in their twenties. An estimate of 6,000 teenagers dies annually from maternal related complications. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2016 where a total of 100 respondents were selected from Mukono Parish residents’ register using a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using a pretested questionnaire. Results: 76% had prior knowledge about sex education whereas 24% had not. 42% got the information from the school a gesture that respondents took part in the classroom discussion about sexuality, 28% from newspapers –straight talk, 16% health worker, and 14% from their parents. 45% believed that school dropout is due to social effect of teenage pregnancy, 34% said that teen mother is more likely to have no or low qualifications and 9% said that child of a teen mother is more likely to abuse drugs, 12% don’t know any of the social effects. Conclusion and recommendations: Teenagers in Uganda are informed about sex education. The government in conjunction with the development partners needs to include sex education in the school curriculum. The girl child needs to be educated on how to protect herself and avoid becoming a victim of teenage pregnancy. Parents should not shy away from educating their children about sex education while they are still young, by so doing the teens grow knowing the consequences of early pregnancy. Pregnant teenagers need to be encouraged to attend antenatal care as well as welcomed into society without stigmatization.
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