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The article focuses on addressing teen dating violence through improved sex education in Kansas, U.S. It highlights the prevalence of teen dating violence, its impact on health, and the need for effective prevention strategies. It discusses the inadequacies of current sex education programs, particularly the limitations of abstinence-only education, and advocates for the implementation of comprehensive sex education.

There is a growing body of research, primarily from the U.S. context, indicating that abstinence-only education (AOE) is largely ineffective (Kohler, P. K., L. E. Manhart, and W. E. Lafferty. 2008. "Abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education and the initiation of sexual activity and teen pregnancy." Journal of Adolescent Health 42 (4): 344–351; Rosenbaum, J. E. 2009. "Patient teenagers? A comparison of the sexual behavior of virginity pledgers and matched non-pledgers." Pediatrics 123 (1): e110 – e120). However, there is a dearth of research about the gendered dimensions of AOE, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. We focus on the case of Uganda due to the high sexual risk factors, especially for women and girls, as well as the strong presence of AOE. Drawing on interview data with 33 young Ugandan women, results from this study demonstrate how AOE reinforces deeply embedded cultural norms and harmful traditional practices, from victim blaming to bride price. AOE is inherently gendered, damaging to young women's self-esteem and perceived bodily integrity, and does not promote informed sexual health decisions. The findings from our study illustrate that comprehensive sexual education that promotes inquiry and critical thinking from students may serve as a powerful weapon against gendered oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To evaluate the global research on school-based comprehensive sex education (CSE) by applying rigorous and meaningful criteria to outcomes of credible studies in order to identify evidence of real program effectiveness. Methods. We examined 120 studies of school-based sex education contained in the reviews of research sponsored by three authoritative agencies: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the U.S. federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their reviews screened more than 600 hundred studies and accepted only those that reached a threshold of adequate scientific rigor. These included 60 U.S. studies and 43 non-U.S. studies of school-based CSE plus 17 U.S. studies of school-based abstinence education (AE). We evaluated these studies for evidence of effectiveness using criteria grounded in the science of prevention research: sustained positive impact (at least 12 months post-program), on a key protective indicator (abstinence, condom use— especially consistent use, pregnancy, or STDs), for the main (targeted) teenage population, and without negative/harmful program effects. Results. Worldwide, six out of 103 school-based CSE studies (U.S. and non-U.S. combined) showed main effects on a key protective indicator, sustained at least 12 months post-program, excluding programs that also had negative effects. Sixteen studies found harmful CSE impacts. Looking just at the U.S., of the 60 school-based CSE studies, three found sustained main effects on a key protective indicator (excluding programs with negative effects) and seven studies found harmful impact. For the 17 AE studies in the U.S., seven showed sustained protective main effects and one study showed harmful effects. Conclusions. Some of the strongest, most current school-based CSE studies worldwide show very little evidence of real program effectiveness. In the U.S., the evidence, though limited, appeared somewhat better for abstinence education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To examine the relationship between adolescent pregnancy–prevention and sexuality and abstinence-only education funding and adolescent birthrates over time. Also, to determine whether state ideology plays a moderating role on adolescent reproductive health, that is, whether the funding has its intended effect at reducing the number of adolescent births in conservative but not in liberal states. Methods. We modeled time-series data on federal abstinence-only and adolescent pregnancy–prevention and sexuality education block grants to US states and rates of adolescent births (1998–2016) and adjusted for state-level confounders using 2-way fixed-effects models. Results. Federal abstinence-only funding had no effect on adolescent birthrates overall but displayed a perverse effect, increasing adolescent birthrates in conservative states. Adolescent pregnancy–prevention and sexuality education funding eclipsed this effect, reducing adolescent birthrates in those states. Conclusions. The millions of dollars spent on abstinence-only education has had no effect on adolescent birthrates, although conservative states, which experience the greatest burden of adolescent births, are the most responsive to changes in sexuality education–funding streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on an article by Katherine Frank on the stigma of non-monogamy within collective sex environments. Topics include monogamy as the gold standard for preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) within abstinence-only until marriage (AOUM) education, a major reason that collective sex environments are perceived negatively, and how to reduce the spread of STDs. The rationality of stigma surrounding STDs is also mentioned.

Given the lack of citizen or medical support for abstinence-only education, we ask how abstinence-education maintains such a stronghold in America and other Western democracies’ public policy and consciousness. Our response has three parts. In the first, we outline the disproportionately negative health outcomes of sex education experienced by female, impoverished, ethnic and racial minorities, and LGBT youth. Next we address prominent narratives in sex education. We use the work of Pierre Bourdieu as a frame to understand neoliberal narratives and the accrual of cultural capital. Next we address two specific narratives in sex education, both of which align with broad tenets of neoliberal thought: the first of these is a focus on individual responsibility at the expense of understanding broader social structures. The second questions the role of education in a democratic nation that privileges the private over the overall health of the citizenry. In closing, we highlight comprehensive alternatives to sex education that can better prepare healthy individuals and democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling in 1973 made abortion legal in the United States, it has consistently been subject to attempts to limit its reach, to make abortions harder to access, and thus to restrict their availability or frequency. In recent years, both pro-life and pro-choice groups have been reenergized, through calls to defund Planned Parenthood in Congress in 2015, and the 2016 Supreme Court ruling which prohibited a Texas “clinic-shutdown” law, for obstructing women's legal access to abortion under Roe. An era where this law was particularly contested, however, was the 1980s, which saw the Christian right crystallize and rally together to support the election of Ronald Reagan as President, in the hopes that he would promote their goals. Though extra-governmental pro-life groups and antiabortion individuals within the federal government were not ultimately able to do away with Roe, and would eventually become disappointed with Reagan's efforts in securing this, a series of measures over the course of the administration saw abortion access limited for one group of women in particular: teenage girls. This essay follows these legislative moves over the course of the 1980s, which include the first federal abstinence-only education bill, the Adolescent Family Life Act, a series of laws that allowed states to enact parental notification or consent clauses for minors’ abortions, and a “squeal rule” for doctors who treated sexually active teenagers. It analyses the discourse of and around each of these measures in order to understand how young women's sexual conduct mobilized abortion policy in this era. In doing so, it offers new perspectives on the significance of adolescent female sexuality to Reagan, to the Christian right, and to progressives involved in the heated debates over abortion and related battles of the 1980s culture wars. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Ugandan government has been criticised on several grounds for its abstinence-only policies on sexuality education directed towards young people. These grounds include the failure to recognise the multiple realities faced by young people, some of whom may already be sexually active. In the study reported on this paper, students’ perceptions of relationships and sexual practices were analysed to obtain an understanding of how young people construct and negotiate their sexual agency in the context of abstinence-only messages provided in Ugandan secondary schools and at the wider community level. Ten in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions were conducted with students aged 15–19 years (N = 55) at an urban co-educational secondary school. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using grounded theory. Findings show that students engage in sexual activity despite their belief that contraception is ineffective and their fears for the consequences. Students’ age, gender, financial capital and perceived sexual desire further increase risk and vulnerability. To improve their effectiveness, school-based sexuality education programmes should support students to challenge and negotiate structural factors such as gender roles and sociocultural norms that influence sexual practices and increase vulnerability and risk. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

“Abstinence-only” sex education, which is still widely used across the United States, does not prepare students to engage in healthy adult relationships. Prior research evidence indicates that abstinence-only education is less effective at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than comprehensive sex education. This study examines the impact of abstinence-only sex education curricula on a non-randomly selected group of young adults from various locations across a large Southwestern state. Volunteers were recruited from marginalized populations (young women, youth of color, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) or other gender-nonconforming students). They participated in recorded in-person interviews, and transcripts were developed from those recordings. Using qualitative analytical techniques, themes and sub-themes were developed to provide insight into the experiences of the interviewees. These include respondents feeling that insufficient information and resources were provided, that sexist and heterosexist stereotypes were promoted, and that students of color were assumed to be more sexually active than they were. Further, respondents did not feel safe in their sex education classes, describing the curricula and many teachers as relying on fear and shame. Nonetheless, interviewees noted some teachers demonstrated concern for their students. Implications of the research on practice, policy, and research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A telephone survey was administered to residents of a historically conservative southern state to assess resident's level of support for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in schools and support for the availability of condoms and contraception to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Data were obtained from 841 residents and findings revealed that the majority of residents: (a) support CSE, (b) support access to birth control, and (c) support the availability of condoms. Data were analyzed to determine characteristics of those in support of these prevention strategies so that data could inform key stakeholders, policy makers and health promotion strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We assessed the efficacy of an individual-based behavioral intervention on sexually transmitted infections’ (STI) risk-reduction behaviors in Singapore. A randomized controlled trial of a behavioral intervention compared to usual care was conducted on sexually active heterosexual adolescents aged 16–19 years attending the only public STI clinic. The intervention included two on-site skills-based sessions targeting individual, relational and environmental influences on sexual behaviors, followed by online support. Participants were assessed at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Primary outcomes were self-reported abstinence, number of partners and consistent condom use for vaginal sex. We recruited 337 adolescents to the intervention and 351 to usual care (controls). Fifty-nine percent of intervention participants and 53% of controls completed follow-up. Young men [adjusted risk ratio (RR) 2.03; 95% CI, 1.25–3.30], but not young women, in the intervention were more likely than controls to report secondary abstinence. More non-abstinent young women in the intervention than controls kept to one partner (adjusted RR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04–1.50) compared to no differences in young men. There was no intervention effect on consistent condom use in both genders. Skill-based intervention can promote abstinence in young men and keeping to one partner in young women in a clinic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluations of a large federally funded sexual risk avoidance education (SRAE) efforts in the USA have not been widely reported in the wake of funding cuts. The purpose of this study is to report results from a broad set of programmes to demonstrate the breadth of field effectiveness of these programmes. Twenty-seven separate community-based SRAE programmes were evaluated from 2005 to 2010, comprising 74 separate evaluations and involving over 96,000 young people. Pre- to post-effect sizes on key attitudinal predictors of sexual activity were analysed using meta-analytic techniques, both individually and as an average composite score. The standardised change score effect size on the composite measure were small and statistically significant (d = 0.20,k = 75,p < 0.001), as were effects on individual measures (d = 0.15–0.31). Programmes using a single curriculum showed greater results than those using their own blend of two or more curricula. As a group, this large body of field implementations of SRAE appears to have produced modest but statistically significant effects on key predictors of sexual activity in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

When adolescents delay (meaning they wait until after middle school) engaging in sexual intercourse, they use condoms at higher rates and have fewer sexual partners than those who have sex earlier, thus resulting in a lower risk for unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The 1996 Section 510 of Title V of the Social Security Act (often referred to as A-H) is a policy that promotes abstinence-only-until-marriage education (AOE) within public schools. Using Stone's (2012) policy analysis framework, this article explores how A-H limits welfare, liberty, and security among adolescents due to the poor empirical outcomes of AOE policy. We recommend incorporating theory-informed comprehensive sex education in addition to theory-informed abstinence education that utilizes Fishbein and Ajzen's (2010) reasoned action model within schools in order to begin to address adolescent welfare, liberty, and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science classrooms—and science textbooks—are proving to be challenging spaces for education that contradicts abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) sex education. However, science educators can teach against this knowledge in a way that is critical of oppressive language. In fact, having explicit dialogue about gender identities and sexual orientation can help uncover oppressive cultural attitudes and help science educators challenge universal views of the human body. This article examines two narratives that use a pedagogic practice to help them teach in AOUM environments. The first narrative discusses personal experiences of the author as a science teacher and the dilemmas faced by including what I call a “sex box” in a life science class. The second narrative discusses an excerpt from a research study conducted with life science teachers in which a participant uses this same method. The purpose of this discussion is to help expose the science classroom as a place to have meaningful discussions, even with policies and cultures that do not support the discussion of safe sex for minority human sexualities.1This article suggests future science teachers and present teachers alike can advocate for the incorporation of national standards that counteract overtly discriminatory policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We examined Chinese immigrant religious institutions' views on teaching about preventing sexual transmission of HIV and the consistency of their views with public health best practices in HIV prevention. Methods. We used 2009 to 2011 survey data from 712 members of 20 New York City-based Chinese immigrant religious institutions to analyze their views on (1) teaching adolescents about condoms, (2) discussing homosexuality nonjudgmentally, and (3) promoting abstinence until marriage. Results. Religion type was a significant predictor of views in the 3 domains, with Evangelical Protestants in least agreement with public health best practices, Buddhists in most agreement, and mainline Protestants between them. Greater HIV knowledge was significantly associated with agreement with best practices in all 3 domains. The frequency of prayer, meditation, or chanting and the level of acculturation were significant predictors of views on teaching adolescents about condoms and promoting abstinence until marriage. Conclusions. The best practice messages about HIV prevention that Chinese immigrant religious institutions find acceptable vary according to religion type and several other key factors, including HIV knowledge; frequency of prayer, meditation, or chanting; and level of acculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge gap hypothesis predicts widening disparities in knowledge of heavily publicized public affairs issues among socioeconomic status groups. The belief gap hypothesis extends the knowledge gap hypothesis to account for knowledge and beliefs about politically contested issues based on empirically verifiable information. This analysis of 3 national surveys shows belief gaps developed between liberals and conservatives regarding abstinence-only sex education; socioeconomic status–based knowledge gaps did not widen. The findings partially support both belief gap and knowledge gap hypotheses. In addition, the unique contributions of exposure to Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC in this process were investigated. Only exposure to Fox News was linked to beliefs about abstinence-only sex education directly and indirectly through the cultivation of conservative ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While many states mandate some type of sexuality education in schools, state legislation varies widely across the United States. Nevertheless, though much has been written about the behavioral outcomes of sexuality education programs shown to be effective at reducing one or more risky sexual behaviors in teenagers, less is known about the exact content taught by these programs, and whether it aligns with national recommendations for sexuality education programming in school. This article reviews the content of evidence-based sexuality education programs in schools (n = 10) from the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) to assess the extent to which programs are following a comprehensive model of sexual health endorsed by the National Sexuality Education Standards. Results indicate that the majority of programs provide education on sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy, abstinence, and contraceptive use. Far fewer address components related to healthy dating relationships, including interpersonal violence and an understanding of gender roles. No programs address nonheterosexual orientations. Analysis of the programs and implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to present an analysis of the philosophical, historical, sociological, political, and economic perspectives reflected in the public policies about lifespan sexuality education of Germany and The Netherlands. A new conceptual framework for analysis and evaluation of sexuality education policies that integrates the Conceptual Model of Nursing and Health Policy and the Neuman Systems Model guided the analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 informants from the two countries during the summers of 2012 and 2013. A short discussion of sexuality education in the United States is presented with implications focused on how the results of the analyses of sexuality education policies in Germany and The Netherlands could influence development of sexuality education policies in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explores the abstinence-only sex education experiences of a small group of young adults in the southeastern USA. Most participants felt that their abstinence-only sex education had mixed value and low overall impact in their lives. Perceptions about abstinence, virginity, and marriage varied significantly from those stressed in abstinence-only curricula. Distinct themes emerged about “ideal” sex education content, with strong support for comprehensive instruction and less for emphases on strictly negative outcomes of sexual activity. These responses reflect many curriculum components of comprehensive sex education. Future efforts to develop effective sex education programs should incorporate these concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the challenges and proposed changes in the legislations regulating sex education in schools of the several states of the U.S. Topics discussed include challenges to statutes that limit topics such as sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and human sexuality in sex education curriculum, political developments during the 2012 election cycle related to sex education, and federal funding for both abstinence-only sex education programs.

In the U.S., young people are having less sex than the generations that came before, while the advice they get from peers, teachers, and parents becomes ever more scattered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of HIV/AIDS prevention in public discourse in sub-Saharan Africa is often focused, and not without good reason, on modification of sexual behavior, exemplified in the well-known ABC strategy - Abstain, Be faithful, wear a Condom. It is here suggested that this narrowing of focus onto sexuality, in contexts where traditionally public discourse on the subject is taboo, could result unhelpfully in significant stereotyping and stigmatization of People Living with HIV & AIDS, especially women. Furthermore, other factors which serve as potential "drivers" of the epidemics are often omitted from prevention initiatives. These include etiologies of sickness especially as they relate to Hiv infection, socio-cultural and economic factors, as well as religious and theological perspectives. These have potential impact on both men and women, but in many instances have even more serious consequences for girls and women. Considering the conditions of people subject to displacement within or forced migration from their countries, the negative impacts of these "drivers" of the epidemics are enhanced even further. Women in particular are most vulnerable to abuse and victimization. In this light, it is recommended that a more nuanced and more contextualized understanding of the epidemics be pursued, one which does not overlook biomedically important issues (including sexuality) but addresses a range of other negative perspectives and practices which result in stigmatization and victimization of women and girls, increasing their vulnerability to abuse and consequently of HIV infection. In focusing on HIV prevention in terms of gender inequities in sub-Saharan society in general and among internally displaced and forced migrant populations in particular, it is important to identify missiological insights that have significance for the missional challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Note examines abstinence-only education curricula, including its history, criticisms against it, and the failure of judicial challenges to end its promotion and federal funding. It addresses how abstinence-only education has managed to remain a central means of teaching sexual education, despite its ineffective and controversial nature. Finally, this Note will discuss how abstinence-only education curricula may fall out of favor or be modified with new state and federal requirements that sexual educational curricula be medically accurate. This is demonstrated by the American Academy of Pediatrics v. Clovis Unified School District case in California. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines youth sexual agency during sexuality lessons in a New Zealand secondary school. Employing poststructuralist discourse analysis, examples are highlighted in which girls (and boys) gain access to sexual agency. Through conversation, girls are simultaneously positioned as ‘asked’ and ‘pursuer’ and boys as ‘asker’ and ‘pursued’ whilst abstinence and virginity are imbued with sexual agency for both sexes. This study demonstrates that it is discursive versions of agency which hold central importance in youth sexual development. Thus the capacities for sexual action that are fostered in classroom conversation cannot plausibly be separated from agentive sexual practices of young people beyond the classroom's walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although most teachers realize the potential of using popular culture within the sexuality education classroom, incorporating it successfully is complex. Especially, how can teachers critically analyse the ideology contained in popular culture without lapsing into moralizing and design motivating activities? For teachers in Taiwan, whose training has involved abstinence-only sex education and discourse, avoiding such activities is an even greater challenge. This study attempts to present an analytical framework for development students' sexual literacy through popular culture to respond to these issues. The framework for using popular culture sexual literacy as a pedagogical tool enables teachers to shift from analysing popular culture itself to understanding the lessons regarding sexuality and gender that students derive from it. Using this analytic framework, teachers can establish an interesting and meaningful method to discuss sex and intimacy relationship issues and facilitate students' inquiry into the multiple understanding of sexuality and gender; especially in discussing and understanding the desire of adolescent girls. Through this framework, the true needs of students in sexuality education can be addressed. This pedagogical approach also relates the course content to the practical experiences of young students and alters student opinions on formal sexual education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Changes in American sexual behavior brought about by the sexual revolution have been linked to the breakdown of the family and other social ills. Because sex has profound consequences for self, others, and society, sex education is an important part of character education. Sexual abstinence before marriage is associated with better physical and psychological health among adolescents and adults, fosters stable marriages, and ensures that childbearing takes place within marriage. Because abstinence education encourages students to avoid all risk taking and make sexual choices that are objectively in their best interest and the best interest of society, it is the approach most aligned with the goals of character education. Recent reviews of research have identified abstinence education programs that have been effective in reducing teen sexual activity. Consideration is given to how to provide continued support for sexual restraint during the college years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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As a rule, American states try to maximize their share of federal funds. This study addresses an unusual case of states rejecting federal dollars. Here, the spurned monies were block grants for abstinence-only education, intended to discourage adolescent sexual activity. These grants became available in 1998, but by 2009, twenty-five states had rejected them. Using a conceptual framework drawn from fiscal federalism and morality politics, we explore the dynamics of these state decisions through an event history analysis. The results suggest that states’ rejection of abstinence-only funds were largely driven by partisanship and ideology rather than by fiscal maximization or state needs. We argue that this case is a bellwether for fiscal federalism in a polarized polity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a lesson plan which teaches about sexual abstinence.

The article focuses on sex education in schools and the disagreement between parents, the public, and policy makers on the best way to prevent sexual activity among teenagers. The social and political influences surrounding the different types of sex education programs are discussed including abstinence-only and comprehensive sexuality education. The results of a study of undergraduate students in the southeastern U.S. are presented, including the differences between the knowledge of students taught an abstinence-only curriculum versus those taught the comprehensive sexual education curriculum.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify significant external and internal challenges that state organization leaders face in promoting science-based teen pregnancy prevention programs within their states. The state organization administrators were chosen because their organizations were funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote science-based prevention programs between 2005 and 2010. Given a recent federal infusion of $155 million to replicate science-based programs nationwide, this study is timely. Data reported in this article were collected annually over three years (2006–2009) using semi-structured interviews. External factors influencing success include the states’ socio-political climate, including the impact of abstinence-only programs; internal factors include infrastructure, recruitment, and retention of key partners, organization, board, and staff management and financial sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous research has suggested that school-based pregnancy prevention programs that provide sexual education and related forms of support and foster life skill development are effective in improving preadolescents' attitudes toward abstinence and contraception. However, there has been limited research on the cost-effectiveness of such programs. This study used an economic approach to estimate the short- and long-term cost-effectiveness of a school-based pregnancy prevention education program by controlling for various influential factors, including predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors. The results of this study indicate that school-based health education intervention improves preadolescents' attitudes toward abstinence and pregnancy avoidance through contraceptive use. The findings also indicate that the program is cost-efficient and demonstrate its net benefits based on its long-term impact. The findings demonstrate that spending US$1000 on school-based health education intervention fosters the prevention of 13.67 unintended pregnancies among preadolescents. Sexual abstinence helps society avoid the associated public welfare, socioeconomic, and medical/health-care costs of such pregnancies. The implication of this study is that these school-based health education programs should be widely implemented in high-risk neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the same time that there was a decline in comprehensive school-based sex education, adolescents' use of the Internet became nearly universal. This study explores adolescents' use and evaluation of the Internet for sexual health information, with a focus on the issues of contraception and abstinence. The authors conducted 58 in-depth interviews with juniors and seniors in 3 public high schools in New York City and Indiana. Most of the adolescents used the Internet on a daily basis, but few considered it a main source of information about contraception or abstinence. Students were more likely to rely on and had greater trust in traditional sexuality education sources such as school, family members, and friends. Most of the adolescents the authors interviewed were wary of sexual health information on the Internet, and the authors describe strategies adolescents used to sort through the abundance of sex-related material. Formal and informal efforts to provide sexuality education to adolescents should include specific age- and content-appropriate Web sites because many teens are not actively searching on their own, and they express reservations about relying on the Internet as a source of sexual health information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on in-depth interviews with 64 American parents of teenagers, I examine how parents navigate the complex landscape of abstinence, personal responsibility, and sexual well-being in their sexuality lessons to their children. Reflecting the dominance of the abstinence-only discourse, many parents expressed a sense of accountability to promote abstinence in their sexuality lessons to their children. At the same time, parents doubt that their children will remain abstinent until marriage. My analysis suggests that abstinence is appealing to parents less for its moral message than its promise of psychological, physical, and financial well-being. That is, despite their ambivalence, many parents promote abstinence because they hope it will keep their children safe and safeguard their futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper emerges from an ongoing, three-year qualitative study of how adolescents, teachers, and peer sexual health educators interpret the language of abstinence and represent the emotional meanings that enliven sexuality and sexual health. The paper demonstrates how conflicts of thinking and relationality emerge from aesthetic narratives about adolescent sexuality found in a short film. Aesthetic problems of representing sexuality, subjectivity, and emotional significance found in focus group data are brought to a discussion of some methodological dilemmas of conducting research on the emotional contexts of sexual health education. Drawing on psychoanalytic theories of thinking and symbolization, this paper considers how aesthetic encounters with film may enable researchers and educators to explore the hidden investments and evasive maneuvers that structure conversations about sexuality and emotional life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces this special issue on sex instruction, noting topics that include teaching the meaning of sexuality, teaching of sexual abstinence, and teaching the health aspects of sex.