New Study Finds Parents Open to Comprehensive Sex Education

To combat high rates of sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancy in Southern states, study authors recommend a comprehensive approach to sex ed.

A newly released Auburn University study found that the Southern states have the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancy in the country. The study, titled “Sexual Health of Young People in the U.S. South: Challenges and Opportunities,” was compiled by the university’s Center for Demographic Research and covered 19 U.S. states. The authors of the report point to the high cost borne by the states for the STIs and teen pregnancies, estimating the total price tag at nearly $2.3 billion just in 2008.

The report offers a solution, said principal investigator Yanyi Djamba, by encouraging parents, educators, policymakers and young people to demand improved access to quality sex education.
“We knew that abstinence-only is not really working as much as we would like,” said Djamba, director of the AUM Center for Demographic Research. “It’s not a bad thing, it is just not working.”

One of the surprising findings from the study was that almost 90% of parents surveyed expressed no opposition to the teaching of age-appropriate comprehensive sex education in schools. To accommodate this preference, in the past year, 10 of the 19 states covered in the study have chosen to take advantage of a new federal program that offers grants to fund state efforts aimed at reducing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies in students.

In 2010, the federal government established new grant programs for sexual health and teen pregnancy prevention. Such programs include details about abstinence but also teach about healthy relationships, contraception and sexually transmitted infections.

Sexual education in schools has been in the news lately due to the efforts by the Utah Legislature to further restrict the material covered in sex education classes in the state. Utah is considered one of the most conservative states in the country when it comes to sex-ed policy, teaching a curriculum that is usually described as “abstinence-based.” The current bill proposed outlawing the sexual education programs called “abstinence-plus.”

The bill, which also sought to bar instruction on homosexuality or other aspects of human sexuality other than the teaching of abstinence, would have been the first of its kind in the nation if it had become law.

Last week, however, Utah Governor Gary Herbert vetoed the bill, saying that, as a both a parent and a grandparent, he considered sex education in schools to be “an important component” in promotion of sexual health. He added that accurate and comprehensive information on sex would not interfere with the moral education being offered to children at home.

Comments

Linda Brees

March 21, 2012 at 5:58 am

It’s encouraging that parents can understand statistics even if legislators can’t. The fact that we’re basically lying to students during sexual education classes really is shameful.

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Kevin

March 21, 2012 at 6:13 am

Sometimes it just isn’t a good idea to leave this kind of education up to the parents. Kids should know the truth about their bodies, and if parents don’t teach it, someone should.

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Kathy

April 5, 2012 at 10:33 am

I am a parent and I do not want the schools to teach my child or someone else child about sex. This issue is for parents and families. This is another example of the education system so off base with education. First they need to provide the service of reading, writing and math before educators dabble in teaching morals. This is very disturbing to me why they feel it is their job or right to intervene in families and a sick mind to want to teach to someone else child on a personal choose. Educators can teach about sex ed but I guarantee with the information given out kids will not listen or even be able to read and comprehend the information. So, I ask this question when did the education system decided to be the behavior centers on morality in our country? I do not have a problem, if this is an elective class for students in the high school with parent’s permission. I am very tried as a parent hearing that strangers can educate our youth better then parents. There are alot more parents that are involved and know what their children are doing. I only ask that the education system proved the service they need to do which is to teach reading, writing and math. Then start to think about other areas to teach., Thank you!

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- Jenn Fraser
  
  April 6, 2012 at 9:04 am
  
  “I am a parent and I do not want the schools to teach my child”
  
  Sure fine.
  
  ” someone else child”
  
  Sorry, no, Kathy. If you’re gonna go requesting that people respect your parenting decisions, you can not go and infringe on someone else’s. Let’s agree that we won’t tell each other how to raise each others’ kids.
  
  Reply
j

April 17, 2012 at 3:13 pm

Unfortunately, too many parents seem to be little more than sperm and egg donors, rather than truly parents. Since these donors won’t do their jobs, someone must step in and do it for them. These lessons run the gamut from character building to sex education.

Sex education needs to be taught with the onset of puberty; if the kids are old enough to breed, they are old enough to heed… Ideally, the students and parents are involved – make it a seminar-like evening class (serve food, that always brings more adults) and show parents AND their children the stats, the pictures, and the solutions.

Another aspect to consider is that teen pregnancy is often celebrated with a party (the shower(s)), LOTS of attention, a mistaken belief that having a child makes one an adult, and twisted bragging rights by the children involved; effectively making their own children sex trophies.

Ideally, abstinence is the choice taken by people. Being human, and once having been a teen, I can state with confidence that people are going to have sex. I’d rather today’s students know how to prevent a pregnancy rather than have them enjoy the challenges of surprise parenting at 13, 14, 15 or older.

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