Sex ed helps teens think twice
From Times Wire Reports
Teenagers who have had formal sex education are far more likely to put off having sex, contradicting earlier studies on the effectiveness of such programs, U.S. researchers said Wednesday.
They found teenage boys who had sex education in school were 71% less likely to have intercourse before age 15, and teen girls who had sex education were 59% less likely to have sex before age 15.
Sex education also increased the likelihood that teen boys would use contraceptives the first time they had sex, according to the study by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
“Sex education seems to be working,” said Trisha Mueller, a CDC epidemiologist who led the study.
