Hattakitpanichakul, Kultida, et al. “Effectiveness of the Dual Approach Program to Promote Sexual Abstinence in Thai Early Female Adolescents and Improve Parent-Daughter Sexual Communication.” Journal of Health Research, vol. 33, no. 4, 2019, pp. 280-292. Web.
Citation: Female adolescent abstinence perception and cognition improved the highest in the adolescent parent program due to a developed trust between a child and parent (Hattakitpanichakul et al. 280).
The presented source focuses on providing sexual education based on abstinence for girls in order to improve sex-related communication between parents and their children. The researchers utilized a quasi-experiment design in order to measure and compare three groups, which included adolescent parent program, adolescent program, and control, group. It should be noted that the measurements and evaluations of efficacy were based on adolescents’ cognition and perception of abstinence, parental communication, and the change of intent among the subjects. In addition, the intent to abstain and perception of pre-marital sexual intercourse was improved towards a safer sexual behavior in the given group compared to a control group and abstinence program without parental involvement.
The study will be used as a source, which will provide a basis for alternative modifications for the current format of abstinence-only programs. The study states that “the data provide further evidence that a dual program with simultaneous parent and female adolescent interactive activities over three sessions is superior compared with programs that target either the parents or the adolescents only” (Hattakitpanichakul et al. 280). Although the research focuses on female adolescents only, it provides an insight into how to make abstinence programs more effective.
Jeynes, William H. “A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Student Abstinence-Only Programs and Sexual Behavior and Attitudes.” Education and Urban Society, vol. 52, no. 1, 2020, pp. 3-20. Web.
Citation: There is a statistically significant relationship between reduced premarital sexual engagement as well as behavior and abstinence programs (Jeynes 3).
The given study is a meta-analysis of 14 pieces of research, which all were focused on examining the relationship between students’ behavior in regards to sexual engagement and abstinence-only programs. The review and analysis of literature were based on a number of key variables in order to evaluate a particular study for reliability, validity, and inclusion. These variables included variable definition, study quality rating, effect size statistics, statistical methods used, and data collection methods. The findings indicate that student attitudes play a key role in the overall efficacy of such programs, where the presence of a negative attitude among subjects results in less effective outcomes. The given factor was heavily impacted by the group attitude since the influence of peer pressure, and decision-making is highly powerful. The reduction of premarital sexual behavior was reduced by 40%, and when attitude levels are factored in, the decrease is 30%. Therefore, the researcher showcases the importance of proper implementation of abstinence-only programs as well as their efficacy in reducing premarital sexual behavior.
The study will be used as evidence for counterarguments for the main thesis and will provide valuable details on the importance of attitude factors when it comes to abstinence programs. The author states that “being around peers who encourage abstinence is associated with lower levels of sexual promiscuousness, the direction of causality, in that case, might be uncertain” (Jeynes 13). In other words, the effect of groupthink will also be discussed in the efficacy of abstinence programs.
Rabbitte, Maureen, and Maithe Enriquez. “The Role of Policy on Sexual Health Education in Schools: Review.” The Journal of School Nursing, vol. 35, no. 1, 2019, pp. 27-38. Web.
Citation: Abstinence programs are less effective than sexual education, which is why it is recommended for parents to work towards changing the current abstinence-only programs to the latter (Rabbitte and Enriquez 27).
The selected study evaluates the effectiveness of abstinence programs against sexual education programs in the context of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancies. The researchers point out the fact that the latter issues are becoming more prevalent and problematic due to the increasing trends. The study screened a total of 587 reports, studies, researchers, and assessments, where only 27 were included in the review. The evaluation of efficacy was based on various factors, which included adolescent sexual health outcomes, teen pregnancies, abortion rates, and STI prevalence statistics. The researchers found that these latter variables were more troublesome when a policy advanced abstinence-only programs instead of sexual education ones.
The study will be used to support the higher level of effectiveness of sexual education compared to abstinence programs. The authors state that “AOE programs have been shown to be detrimental to teen sexual health outcomes,” but sexual education “programs have been shown to decrease teen birth rates and meet the educational needs of teens who are already sexually active or in the sexual minority” (Rabbitte and Enriquez 37). Thus, the research provides valuable data and insights in regards to the policy-wide implications of abstinence programs, which bases its conclusions on data of teen pregnancies and adolescent sexual health outcomes.
Santelli, John, et al. “Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage: An Updated Review of U.S. Policies and Programs and Their Impact.” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 61, no. 3, 2017, pp. 273–280. Web.
Citation: Abstinence policies in the United States were not effective in delaying or postponing the age factors when it comes to adolescents’ sexual activity rates pre-marriage (Santelli et al. 273).
The given source primarily focuses on analyzing the effectiveness of abstinence-only-until-marriage or AOUM programs, which aim to minimize the sexual activity engagement levels among adolescents. The study utilizes an assessment of a multitude of reports from various sources, which include adolescent health reports, sexual education reports, policies and their interpretations by the policymakers, analysis from educators, and reports from researchers. The literature included in the systematic review ranged from the dates of 2006 to the date of publication. In addition, the researchers consulted and considered the information from policy-related viewpoints and policy-relevant data as well as human rights declarations from the international organizations. The findings show that AOUM programs significantly undermined the impact of sexual education programs, which are proven to be more effective at minimizing the risks associated with adolescent sexual intercourse, such as teen pregnancy and STIs. Therefore, the researchers conclude that AOUM programs inherently violate the critical human rights of individuals for life, information, and health by negatively impacting sexual education programs and not providing value on their own.
The source will be used as core evidence in order to assess the efficacy of abstinence programs in the United States. It provides critical data on both the ineffectiveness of such programs as well as ramifications of useful approaches. Researchers state that “abstinence is theoretically effective, in actual practice, intentions to abstain from sexual activity often fail,” and “promotion of AOUM policies by the U.S. government has undermined sexuality education in the United States and in U.S. foreign aid programs” (Santelli et al. 273). Therefore, a significant portion of the evidence of the paper will base its claims on the given sources and sources used within the review.
Smith, Thomas, et al. “Evaluating Effectiveness of Abstinence Education.” Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, vol. 14, no. 5, 2017, pp. 360-367. Web.
Citation: Abstinence programs have less effect on older male adolescents (Smith et al. 360).
The study focuses on the assessment of the effectiveness of federally mandated abstinence programs through the curriculum. The researchers analyze the implementation of such programs in middle schools and high schools, where the total number of students involved in the programs was equal to 5772. The measurements were based on the A-H component of such programs, which were evaluated through the ANCOVA test. The results indicate that student ethnic background was not a critical determinant of abstinence-only programs run in accordance with A-H principles of the federal government of the United States. However, male teenagers were the only students on whom the program had less effect as their age increased. In other words, the abstinence programs had less effect on older male adolescents than younger male students or female students.
The study will be used to provide more details in regards to the efficacy of abstinence programs in adolescents when it comes to age and gender differences. The authors state that “while controlling for the effects of the pretest, the analyses showed that age and gender were main effects but that ethnicity did not prove to be related to the outcome scores,” and thus, the study can be “beneficial to program developers in understanding what variations and demographics” (Smith et al. 360). Therefore, it is highly useful to make more evidence-based recommendations for potential efficacy improvements.
Works Cited
Hattakitpanichakul, Kultida, et al. “Effectiveness of the Dual Approach Program to Promote Sexual Abstinence in Thai Early Female Adolescents and Improve Parent-Daughter Sexual Communication.” Journal of Health Research, vol. 33, no. 4, 2019, pp. 280-292. Web.
Jeynes, William H. “A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Student Abstinence-Only Programs and Sexual Behavior and Attitudes.” Education and Urban Society, vol. 52, no. 1, 2020, pp. 3-20. Web.
Rabbitte, Maureen, and Maithe Enriquez. “The Role of Policy on Sexual Health Education in Schools: Review.” The Journal of School Nursing, vol. 35, no. 1, 2019, pp. 27-38. Web.
Santelli, John, et al. “Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage: An Updated Review of U.S. Policies and Programs and Their Impact.” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 61, no. 3, 2017, pp. 273–280. Web.
Smith, Thomas, et al. “Evaluating Effectiveness of Abstinence Education.” Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, vol. 14, no. 5, 2017, pp. 360-367. Web.