Changes in Teen Attitudes Toward Marriage, Cohabitation and Children 1975 – 1995. Defoe Whitehead, B & Popenoe, David. The National Marriage Project. 1999. The current cultural climate in the United States is not conducive to strong, lasting marriages and childrearing by stable two-parent families. If we hope to overcome the increasing social and economic impoverishment of our nation’s young people, the tide of divorce, fatherlessness, and out-of-wedlock childbearing must be stemmed. Unfortunately teens and young adults today are pessimistic about the possibility of actually having a stable, two-parent household, and increasingly they do not think their marriages in fact will last a lifetime. Further, many teens have become highly tolerant of out-of-wedlock childbearing, single-parent childrearing and nonmarital cohabitation. They do not seem to fully grasp the economic, social and personal costs of single parenthood. This review includes statistics from a variety of surveys of American teenagers, adding diversity to purity abstinence resources. Adolescents Who Take Virginity Pledges Have Lower Rates of Out-of-Wedlock Births. Johnson, Kirk. The Heritage Foundation, March 2004. Young women who take a virginity pledge are about 40 percent less likely to have a child out of wedlock when compared to similar young women who do not make such a pledge, according to recently released data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. These dramatic findings are sustained when background factors, such as socioeconomic status, race, religiosity, and other relevant variables, are held constant. This finding strongly suggests the potential for abstinence education programs to reduce teen pregnancy and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Teenage Sexual Abstinence and Academic Achievement.Rector, R. and Johnson, K. The Heritage Foundation. October, 2005. Ph.D. Social science data show that teens who abstain from sex do substantially better on a wide range of outcomes. For example, teens who abstain from sex are less likely to be depressed and to attempt suicide; to experience STDs; to have children out-of-wedlock; and to live in poverty and welfare dependence as adults.Finally, teens who delay sexual activity are more likely to have stable and enduring marriages as adults, demonstrating that the benefits to abstinence reach further than simply avoiding teen pregnancy. This paper provides new findings on the positive effects of teen abstinence as well as statistics for abstinence. It examines the linkages between teen sexual activity and academic performance using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a national survey funded by more than 17 federal agencies. The Harmful Effects of Early Sexual Activity and Multiple Sexual Partners Among Women: A Book of Charts Rector, R., Johnson, K., Noyes, L., and Martin, S. Heritage Foundation. June 2003. Early initiation of sexual activity and higher numbers of non-marital sex partners are linked in turn to a wide variety of negative life outcomes, including increased rates of infection with sexually transmitted diseases, increased rates of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and birth, increased single parenthood, decreased marital stability, increased maternal and child poverty, increased abortion, increased depression, and decreased happiness. This report examines the linkages between early initiation of sexual activity, number of nonmarital sex partners, and human well-being. The information presents benefits to abstinence and indirectly answers the question: Why should teens stay abstinent? Adolescent
Romantic Relationships as Precursors of Healthy Adult Marriages : A Review of
Theory, Research, and Programs Karney, Beckett, Collins, and Shaw. U.S.
Administration for Children and Families. 2007. This report evaluates current
theory, research, and interventions addressing the role of adolescent romantic
relationships in the development of healthy adult marriages. The analyses
presented are intended to be of use to several different audiences, including
program developers and those working directly with adolescents, policymakers
developing polices to support healthy marriages, and researchers seeking to
build upon the existing research and theory in this area. The information could
potentially be used to develop a curriculum for abstinence education. For more research regarding the benefits to abstinence and relationship education, visit the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, National Abstinence Education Association, National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, or The Heritage Foundation. |
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