May 27, 2008Media Stories

Dancing the Night Away, With a Higher Purpose
The New York Times, May 19, 2008

Abstinence Urged as STD Solution for Teens
Longview (TX) News Journal, May 16, 2008

Growing Up with HIV
Chicago Tribune, May 19, 2008

You Should Still Stop
News Blaze, May 12, 2008

'Just Wait' Takes Aim at Teenage Pregnancy
The (MS) Clarion Ledger, May 11, 2008

Use of Drink and Drugs by Young People for Better Sex
Medical News Today, May 9, 2008

Abstinence Topic of Girls' Tea
Tahlequah (OK) Daily Press, May 8, 2008

May Is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month
The Chattanoogan (TN), May 8, 2008

Funding Opportunities

The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth maintains a listing of organizations identified as potential funding sources for abstinence education programs. The listing includes grant descriptions and contact information.

FYSB Announces Availability of CBAE Funds
The Family and Youth Services Bureau is currently accepting applications for the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program for Fiscal Year 2008.
Application deadline: June 2, 2008

Recent Research

Factors Associated With Multiple-Partner Fertility Among Fathers (2008) (fee required for full article) – In this study, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family [Volume 70 (2): 536-548], one third of 1,731 fathers, ages 16-45, reported having children with more than one partner, a pattern known as multiple-partner fertility. Researchers found that multiple-partner fertility was associated with men having their first sexual experience early, fathering a child at a young age, living with a woman outside of marriage, or fathering a child out of wedlock.

Older Sexual Partners During Adolescence: Links to Reproductive Health Outcomes in Young Adulthood (2008) – In this study in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health [Volume 40 (1): 17-26], researchers found that teenage girls who have sex with an older partner are at greater risk of giving birth out of wedlock and are more likely to acquire an STD in young adulthood. In contrast, STD risks are reduced among teenagers who have sex with a similarly aged partner or delay having sex altogether. The study also found that teenage educational ambitions decrease with the increased risk of parenthood.

Precocious Behaviors in Early Adolescence: Employment and the Transition to First Sexual Intercourse (2006) (fee required for full article) – This study, published in the Journal of Early Adolescence [Volume 26 (1): 60-86], found that adolescents who work at a young age may be more likely to engage in sexual intercourse. Researchers believe these adolescents may have a greater opportunity to experiment with sex because they are surrounded by older youth and adults and are less likely to be monitored by family and friends. The study also reported that educationally high-achieving young teens, who reside in two-parent, college-educated households, are at low risk for an early sexual debut.

Other News/Misc.

Long-Term Consequences for Teens with Older Sexual Partners (2008)
Child Trends reports that teens who have sex at a young age may have poorer reproductive health into adulthood. The report shows that boys and girls who have sex before age 16 are at greater risk of contracting STDs. Girls also have a higher risk of STDs if their sexual partners are older.

Men Who Father Children with More Than One Woman: A Contemporary Portrait of Multiple-Partner Fertility (2006)
This Child Trends analysis found that multiple-partner fertility is more common among older, African-American men, compared to white and Hispanic men. Men also were more likely to have children with multiple partners if they had their first sexual experience at a young age or if they fathered their first child at a young age. In addition, the study shows men were also more likely to have children with additional partners if they were neither married nor residing with the mother of their first child. The report finds that multiple-partner fertility often occurs in circumstances involving problem behaviors, including drug use and incarceration.

What Works in Character Education
The guide for educators and policymakers reviews existing scientific research on the effects of K-12 character education. Researchers found that character education had the most consistent impact on sexual behavior compared to any other outcome. 

HIV/AIDS Fact Sheets
Fact sheets, developed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, highlight the epidemic’s impact on African Americans, Latinos, and women in the U.S., providing current data and trends over time.

Upcoming Events

How to Design a MySpace Profile Web Cast
May 29, 2008
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST
Registration

Spotlight

The Abstinence Education E-Update Spotlight has highlighted various topics, from new Federal staff to effective State programs. Now, NCFY will highlight two States a month, looking at each State’s legislation, policy, and specific State features related to abstinence education.

MISSISSIPPI

What’s Interesting in the State of Mississippi
The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) established the “Just Wait” Abstinence Unit within the Division of Economic Assistance. The sole purpose of the unit is to address out-of-wedlock births, teen pregnancy, and other behavior that puts Mississippi's young people at risk. Mississippi has set a goal to reduce the State's teen pregnancy rate by a third by 2015.

There are 31 Title V abstinence grantees and 5 CBAE grantees in the State.

State Law in Mississippi
Mississippi schools are not required to teach sexuality education or STD/HIV education. If schools choose to teach either or both forms of education, they must stress abstinence until marriage, which would include “the likely negative psychological and physical effects of not abstaining.” The law also states “that abstinence from sexual activity before marriage, and fidelity within marriage, (are) the only certain way(s) to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and related health problems.” In addition, monogamous heterosexual relationships must be presented as the only appropriate place for sexual intercourse. Mississippi’s Comprehensive Health Framework includes education on health promotion and disease prevention for ninth through twelfth grades.
In specific school districts, if the school board authorizes the teaching of contraception, State law dictates that failure rates and risks must be included and “in no case shall the instruction or program include any demonstration of how condoms or other contraceptives are applied.”

What’s Unique in the State of Mississippi
Just Wait features the video "In the Heat of the Moment," depicting teens in Mississippi who address problems associated with premarital sexual activity and out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Public service announcements support the message of abstinence outside of marriage.

MISSOURI

What’s Interesting in the State of Missouri
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) administers the State Abstinence Education Program. Missouri’s program supports abstinence education as a way to delay sexual activity until marriage and to decrease out-of-wedlock pregnancy. The program also aims to decrease the frequency of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents.

The Missouri DHSS administers the program through contracts with schools, local health agencies, and community and faith-based organizations. Programs include curriculum-based abstinence-only education, youth development, and parent-adolescent sexuality.

There are nine Title V grantees and six CBAE programs in the State.

State Law in Missouri
According to Missouri’s Revised Statue 170.015, pertaining to human sexuality, any course materials and instruction relating to human sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases must be medically and factually accurate and must:

(1) Present abstinence from sexual activity as the preferred choice of behavior in relation to all sexual activity for unmarried pupils because it is the only method that is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and the emotional trauma associated with adolescent sexual activity, and advise students that teenage sexual activity places them at a higher risk of dropping out of school;

(2) Stress that sexually transmitted diseases are serious possible health hazards of sexual activity. Pupils shall be provided with the latest medical information regarding exposure to HIV/AIDS, human papillomavirus, hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted diseases;

(3) Present students with the latest medically accurate information regarding both the possible side effects and health benefits of all forms of contraception, including the success and failure rates for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; or present students with information on contraceptives and pregnancy in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Federal abstinence education law, 42 U.S.C. Section 710;

(4) Include a discussion of the possible emotional and psychological consequences of preadolescent and adolescent sexual activity and the consequences of adolescent pregnancy, as well as the advantages of adoption, including the adoption of special-needs children, and the processes involved in making an adoption plan;

(5) Teach skills of conflict management, personal responsibility, and positive self-esteem through discussion and role-playing at appropriate grade levels to emphasize that the pupil has the power to control personal behavior. Pupils shall be encouraged to base their actions on reasoning, self-discipline, sense of responsibility, self-control, and ethical considerations, such as respect for one's self and others. Pupils shall be taught not to make unwanted physical and verbal sexual advances or otherwise exploit another person. Pupils shall be taught to resist unwanted sexual advances and other negative peer pressure.

Instructional guidelines for HIV/AIDS and STD prevention education beginning in high school can be found in Missouri’s Framework for Curriculum Development in Health Education and Physical Education.

What’s Unique in the State of Missouri
The State provides parents with information using the Parents Speak Up National Campaign, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Parents Speak Up is a multimedia campaign that features kids inviting their parents to talk with them openly about waiting to have sex.

Quote of the Day

“I'm living proof that condoms don't always work. I love my son, but the route I've taken is really hard on both of us. I want to encourage other teens to slow down and enjoy this part of their lives as kids, not get involved in sexual relationships before they've even graduated high school. I'm now committed to abstaining from sex until I get married. Abstinence is the only truly safe sex."

(Nicole Hood, 15-year-old mother, Longview (TX) News Journal, May 16, 2008)