Preventing Teen Sex Is No Mystery
by AFA Journal
March 23, 2006
(AgapePress) - - While so-called sex education "experts" are always quick to tout condoms as the solution to problems like teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, one pro-family advocate says the solution is to prevent sexual activity in the first place. Just how to do that is not as difficult as many people seem to make it, according to Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, senior fellow of Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute.
"We know what works in delaying teen sexual activity and preventing promiscuity," Crouse said, "but researchers are hesitant to keep repeating the same simple recipe: parental involvement, good friends, strong faith, participation in church activities."
Crouse cited a recent report released by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The report surveyed the scientific research on the subject. The report can be found at the organization's website. [PDF]
According to the report, teens are less likely to have sex before age 18 if:
- their parents hold strong religious beliefs;
- their parents attend religious services frequently;
- the teens frequently participate in religious activities with their families, such as going to religious services, praying, or reading the Scriptures;
- their peers attend religious services regularly;
- their parents have strong religious beliefs and there exists a strong mother-teen relationship.
In summarizing the survey, the report says basically that teens in religious families have sex at later ages, some religious denominations seem more closely linked to delayed sexual initiation, and parent-teen relationships matter -- and peers may also play a role -- in teens' choosing to delay sexual activity.
This article, printed with permission, appears in the March 2006 issue of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.
