Study: 'Virginity Pledges' Are Ineffective

According to a study released earlier today, teenagers who have taken a "virginity pledge" are still just as likely to engage in premarital sex than those who have not pledged their abstinence. But worse than that, the study found that those same abstinence-swearing teenagers are far less likely to use a form of birth control - condoms, etc - when they do become sexually active.

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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Comments

[magen]

Didja hear that the Earth isn't flat??

It's round!!!!!

Amazing!!!!!!!

[in4success]

DERP!

[keithinkorea]

Virginity pledges aren't effective.

No sh*t!

[bibimimi]

isn't 'virginity pledge' what you wax your carrot with?

[DarkWitch]

too funny

[openlids]

my virginity pledge worked for the day a swore off booze.

[HatingTheGame]

Virginity pledges are all about denial -- denial of desire, denial of "pressure", denial of everything. But the impulse is still there, but if you're in denial you think you can't get STDs or pregnant, because you're actually not having sex, because you made the virginity pledge.

Its the whole religious denial thing -- if I go to church, if I donate to charity, if I do all the things the pastor and bible tells me to do I am a good person, even if I sin. Its like the gay pastors. Just praise the lord, pass the plate, and tap that a**.

Pure Christian hypocracy at its best.

[hamchunk]

Back when I was in High School, nerds like me didn't have to take virginity pledges; it was kind of forced upon us.

[softwoodslumber]

Hahaha. now that's funny as most of these posters had the same problem

[thefringecenter]

The bad news is that the right wing pledgers are multiplying faster.

[RudyV]

Kinda like in "Idiocracy"?

[wolfgangmo]

If you are a puritanical hierarchal man with delusions of religious dominance, the last thing you want is for any women, including your own daughters, taken off the market as it were. That's why they have so many kids. That way when they drop their first, second and third wives, they will have younger, healthier, and less educated models to pick from.

Most talibangelical men I have met seem to view the world as their sandwich and they want to stick their pickle into all of it.

[IForgotMyName]

What a waste of money this study is. Everybody knows that "Virginity Pledges" don't work and those that still believe in those pledges don't believe in facts.

[InfoGiant]

That who whole purpose of the pledge. The church knows this information and wants exponential growth despite the earth's inability to handle that growth. It's the same reason they're anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-birth control...­more people means more potential donors to their trillion dollar (tax-free!!!) business.

http://infogiant.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/god-has-spoken-republicans-get-the-rain-they-wanted/

[NationalTreasure]

Bristol Palin can vouch for that! -- to bad her mother and the rest of the religious right republican hypocrites won't admit the truth

[sportzrule]

I'm tired of all you democrats who keep judging the Palin's. Obama has been to all 57 states. Did you know that? All 57. Thats funny I thought there were only 50.

[DCCommuter]

You are SO clev not.

[Nikola Tesla]

Do you have trouble with the concept of "irony"?

[NYC69]

WOW, I guess that "only up my as s pledge" didn't work, huh?

[tbirdalum]

How much did you spend on this study. I could have told you that for half the money.

[Clavis]

Once again, facts are at odds with right-wing propaganda.

Gee, next thing, they'll be saying that locking young people up for nonviolent drug offenses and lowering educational standards are bad for America...

[jennytaylia]

And exactly WHY are we supposed to be surprised by this finding???

Teach the mechanics of reproduction and give instructions on avoiding unwanted pre.gnan.c­ies and STDs to the kids... you'll do a better service to the kids that way. I taught my boys these things at the age where they could understand, and neither has ever had an unwanted pre.gna.nc­y or STD.

[BeMyVoice]

I grew up in a very religious household and even signed one of those pledge forms about 10 years ago. A little over 4 months later I lost my virginity. A year after that I got pregnant (at 19) by the same guy I lost my virginity to. I married the father, and lucked out that we are still happily married 8 years and 2 kids later. After fumbling my way through that, what is my stand on virginity pacts? Let's put it this way: this bleeding heart liberal mom will TALK to my kids about sex, HELP them obtain protection and ENCOURAGE them to make smart decisions.

[bknott]

I wish you were also talking to kids who are asked to sign the pledge.

[wolfgangmo]

If she even tried the american talaban would freak out.