Abstinence Programs

The program of sexual education in schools permits students in various schools to acquire relevant knowledge about sexual identity, attitudes, and beliefs about sex as well as intimate relationships. Sex education does not only permit the acquisition of sex knowledge but also provides the enlightenment about the need of making positive choices which regards to safe sex and the resultant consequences which can act to affect student’s respective behaviors both physically and emotionally. It is wise to indicate that student’s acquire the right to assess sex education since it is aimed at affecting their prospective problems as well as probable future challenges which will in turn affect their heath positively.

Most of the supporters of sex education depict the fact that sex education should be placed at a fundamental position that will emulate the need to have it taught in reading, writing or math altogether. There are various methodologies which have been deployed in teaching students about safe sex education thus indicating that there is no clear way for which to train the aforementioned programs. While some of the supporters of the program depict that sex education be taught by first informing the respective students about there physical and emotional changes which their bodies undergo others argue that the students first be taught on the need to forego the urge of performing sexual intercourse altogether. It should be noted that as much as schools undertake to teach their respective students with totally different programs, they have also perceived the need for formulating there own approach of reaching the various youth groups within their respective communities as a way of extensively conducting the program. Among the methodologies used include safe sex, abstinence and a rather multi-dimensional approach which is perceived to combine elements of both abstinence and safe sex. The paper will therefore involve itself with the determination of the different facets taught in schools, their respective effectiveness as well as the various funding programs which have been formulated to assist the program to operate smoothly. The research paper will also include relevant examples of groups which were affected by the program as a whole.

The most popular methodologies which are being taught in schools are the abstinence until marriage approach as well as the comprehensive approach. However, the abstinence until marriage methodology is considered to be the fundamental approach which is popular amongst the different schools. It is based on the Christian biblical foundations which postulates on the need for abstaining from sex until marriage. Another goal which is attributed to this methodology depicts on the need to prevent further emotional damage that could be created by having sex at a very tender age. According to Campos (5), he postulates that the youth of any given society are expected to direct their respective lifestyles in an abstinence-based society altogether. In a research conducted by the University of Chicago, it was found out that 68% of adults conformed to the fact that premarital forms of sex is basically wrong and condoned as well. In yet another study conducted by Emory University, it was found out that out of the 1,000 females who had once experienced sexual relations, 85 % of them depicted the desire to further to learn on the advancements needed in stimulating their respective partners sexual advances. A national tabloid survey which involved 1,200 people depicted that at least 72% and 78% of both the youth and adults respectively conformed to the specific pro-abstinence messages altogether (Campos 7).

Groups Affected by the Program:

Best Friends, is a group which was initially created for inner-city girls in the capital, Washington D.C. The program is made up of role models who discourse positive facts about the need for abstaining from sex and other drugs in order for people to live meaningful and dignified forms of life. Among the approaches they advocate for in order to assist a person from indulging in the act is by encouraging the person to associate themselves with better and supportive groups of friends who portray the urge of living successful lives and in turn deter themselves from those friends who portray the urge to self-destruct.

These girls are also enlightened towards achieving their respective goals by practicing the fundamental principles which they are taught on matters pertaining to opposite-sex relationships. They are also made to comprehend the fact that they can engage themselves in positive, healthy and non-sexual relationships altogether. when a survey was conducted within the ” Best Friends” program graduates, it was found out that only 4 % of them had sexual interactions before reaching the age of sixteen as compared to 63 % of those who had not gone through the program altogether. Furthermore, the survey postulated that only 1% of the “Best Friends” program graduates in different schools became pregnant as compared to 26 % of those girls who had not taken part in the program (Campos 8).

In yet another project, “Project Taking Charge” which was conducted in a period of 6 to 9 weeks taught participants on the need to abstain from sexual interrelationships until the right time: marriage. The program is meant to make the youth take the charge of their respective lives for a promising and better future (Mabray & Labauve 34). The program also helps the youth to undertake in activities which will help them forgo the urge to participate in sexual pleasures as well as other harmful activities like drug addiction. The need for encouraging the youth to participate in these other activities is for the mere reason that it will in turn help them to delay there sexual desires until the rightful time. The major focus of this program was to discourage the pregnancies which were rampant amongst the teenage girls in various schools across the country. In a further illustration of the program, it is perceived to have been created to serve at least ten fundamental values amongst the participants. This values include 1) equality, 2) self-control, 3)respect for others, 4) responsibility, 5) honesty, 6) promise keeping, 7) self-respect or self-esteem, 8) dependability, 9) trustworthiness, and 10) justice and fairness (Mabray & Labauve 37-40 ).

The program, which took duration of 6 to 9 weeks, was further sub-divided into three sessions that covered the whole five units, required parents to attend the meetings with their respective children in order to provide moral support (Somers & Paulson 641). In these sessions, the youth are encouraged to engage themselves in a job shadowing form of exercise whereby they are made to visit work sites and in turn gather relevant information about the various professions of their interests. The success of this program was reciprocated when after another five years another session which involved itself in providing lessons of substance abuse, diversity and sexual abuse was introduced altogether. Other befitting projects are “Choosing the Best”, Worth the Wait and Postponing Sexual Involvement. In Postponing Sexual Involvement Program, two units are deployed, that is, the human sexuality and Postponing Sexual Involvement which takes a period of ten sessions altogether. The program was aimed at providing relevant knowledge to the youth of color who were considered as being vulnerable due to the acquisition of STD’s and early teenage pregnancies. The program also taught on the various benefits derived from delaying sexual activities. It further taught the participants on matters pertaining to reproductive health, adolescent development as well as the birth control methodologies available in the market. These participants were also encouraged to conduct themselves responsibly. In a related study which was conducted recently indicated that 24% of the graduates from the program engaged in sex before marriage as compared to 39% of those who were not participants (Campos 8). The Multi-dimensional Program targets the male sexuality as well as the risks which other groups faced. The facets which were covered in the program were aimed at targeting the low-income families, the lack of sex education participation in various schools as well as the subsequent lack of better academic performances in schools. In its initial stages the program aims at assessing the various goal developments while still taking into account that these developments could be affected by culture thus the need for postulating various interventions. The next stage involves the selection of team leaders who could be parents, faith leaders or any other person provided that they lived within the same community. After these developments are set in place, health matters which involve physiological facts, reproduction works and the various changes which occur within the bodies of the youth are reviewed wholly. Facets such as STD’s, importance of peer groups,, out-groups, leadership, role playing, character driven lessons and guest speaking activities are handled as well. Another step which is basically community-based requires that role models be presented to these teens in order to assure them of the effectiveness of the program in shaping their respective lives (Mabray& Labauve 41). Lastly, the Abstinence- plus Program is concentrated on promoting abstinence while still teaching about sexuality as a whole. In this program the intention is to target specific smaller populations as well as smeller groups whereby the participants are reminded that in order for them to avoid STD s, unwanted pregnancies as well as AIDS they have to forgo the desire of participating in sexual activities as a whole. There are also enlightened on the need to have protected sex (American Foundation for AIDS Research 1).

In conclusion, it’s far much postulated that abstinence programs are outdated and ineffective in their respective bid to curb the menace of sexual diseases as well as unwanted pregnancies as advocators of sex have opted to popularize the comprehensive approach as the best alternative methodology to handle the matter at hand. Schools are thereby advised to invest so much on the comprehensible approach as there seems to be more financial support directed towards it as compared to the other methodologies altogether (Wire 1). Schools are also advised to engage in teaching the youth on the need to participate on those activities which will help them delay sexual activities altogether.