Sex Education And Its Effect On Adolescent Sexual Activity

Historically, school-based sex education was intended to prevent adolescent sexual activity by educating adolescents about the dangers related to being sexual active at a young age. This education curriculum was based on the belief that adolescents would be deterred from becoming sexually active, as well as the belief that parents were not capable of effectively communicating this type of information to their children, especially women (Elliott, 2010; Weed Lickona 2014). Although sex education has been debated for decades, this relatively comprehensive sex education program did not become an abstinence-only program until the 1990s. Politicians, parents, and public policymakers who advocated for abstinence-only programs believed that adolescents who had a comprehensive sex education would become sexually active at a younger age and make choices that would negatively impact their lives, which include but are not limited to unplanned pregnancy, emotional or psychological damage, and m oral dilemmas (McCarthy Grodsky, 2011; Weed Lickona, 2014). However, the â€Å"conservative† side, are also known as supporting Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage education, of the sexual debate that promoted this turnover is recognized as being driven by their religious beliefs and moral framework rather than their concern for the program’s effectiveness of reducing unintended pregnancy rates (McCartney and Grodsky, 2011; Kendall 2012; Sommers, 2015). 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