Flatlander said:
It seems to me that a more reasonable approach would be to integrate abstinence teaching with safe sex education. The truth is, youngsters will continue having sex irrespective of what you teach them; as it they who choose whether or not to have sex in the first place. Is it not preferable that they possess an adequate base of knowledge prior to doing so?
We have discovered, when dealing with another teenage issue, underage drinking, that the mindset taken by parents in the later 1980's and early 1990's, i.e. "responsible" underage drinking (you remember, call your parents if you need a ride, or better yet, party at your parents house and they'll take the keys), the idea being that "teenagers are going to drink anyway (sound familiar). The belief was that, by teaching kids to "drink responsibly" that they would do so.
The effect was far different. What actually occurred was an INCREASE of not only dangerous binge drinking, but also an INCREASE in DWI related fatalities by youth. The lesson learned was that telling teenagers to "drink responsibly" really just encouraged them to drink more, and more often.
The message was clear that drinking underage was ok, as long as you "drank responsibly". The problem became, however, that teenagers, by and large, aren't capable of "responsible drinking". The message that teenagers were receiving was that it's ok to drink. They didn't get the responsible part. Moderation and responsible behavior are not traits that often translated well to teenagers.
A model that has been currently put in place that has reduced underage drinking, and the associated injuries and deaths caused by underaged drinking, has been the opposite of "drink responsibly", which is zero-tolerance.
Many states have instituted laws making operating vehicles with even small quantities of alcohol by minors an administrative offense resulting in the loss of licenses. Further, schools have taught a policy whereby any underaged drinking is discouraged, and that NO alcohol use is the only acceptable "responsible" decision.
This has resulted in a drastic reduction in deaths and injuries from DWI's and alcohol related incidents.
Now, some wit is going to say that drinking and sexuality are not the same thing (despite the fact that one has a lot to do with the other oftentimes), but the reality is that both are high-risk behavior engaged in by teenagers. Telling a teenager it's ok to engage in high-risk behavior, as long as they do so "responsibly" has been found to often times lead to MORE high-risk behavior, not responsible behavior.
So, again, the answer is not as clear cut as it would at first appear.
