Where Do Adolescents Learn about Sex and Abstinence Topics?

To learn about the public's views about abstinence, the Administration for Children and Families funded a survey to examine current attitudes of adolescents and their parents regarding abstinence knowledge and attitudes. Abt Associates conducted this public opinion survey of a nationally representative matched sample of 1000 adolescents (ages 12 to 18) and their parents in 2008. Almost all (94%) of adolescents reported they had learned about at least one of six topics in a class or program: how to behave on dates (39% had “learned about this topic”), how religious values relate to sexual intercourse (44%), how to have good relationships (62%), waiting to have sexual intercourse until marriage (71%), how babies are made, pregnancy or birth (83%), and how to resist pressures to have sexual intercourse (84%). Exposure to these topics varied by location of the class or program (e.g., school, place of worship, doctor's office, community organization or some other place.) Most messages were received by most adolescents in schools; the topic related to resisting pressures to have sex was most frequently learned in a place of worship. Parents favored many places for the receipt of the message that one should not have sex before marriage: school (83%), doctor's office or clinic (85%), place of worship (85%), community organization (71%), and internet (55%). Findings from multivariate analyses conducted using a conceptual model based on the literature imply that delivery of messages about sex and abstinence in a variety of settings increases the likelihood that adolescents hear the message.