Should Condoms Be Available in High Schools?
Introduction
The issue of sex education has long been a controversial one. The two basic types of sex education in the United States are abstinence-only and comprehensive. While comprehensive education advocates abstinence as the primary defense against unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV/AIDS, it also addresses the inevitability that some adolescents have or will engage in sexual behavior. Twenty-one of the fifty states have school districts which provide condom availability programs (Brown, Pennylegion, & Hillard, 1997). Providing information about contraception and how to have “safer” sex is an integral part of comprehensive sex education. Providing condoms in schools is a much debated aspect of some comprehensive programs. In contrast, abstinence-only programs discuss abstinence, or refraining from sex until marriage, as the only guarantee of protection from the growing epidemics of teenage pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. Although published surveys report 68% to 75% of adults have supported distributing condoms in schools (Fanburg, Kaplan, & Naylor, 1995), more than half of students in the United States are being taught abstinence-only curricula, according to a website dedicated to adult sex education, (http://www.eroticuniversity.com/articles/sexed1.htm). Both types of education seek to diminish the growing rate of these problems among adolescents. Advocates of either program have strong opinions on having condoms available to students in school. This issue of condoms in schools is a growing concern because of increasing rates of sexual behavior, earlier onset of sexual activity, teenage pregnancy, and the spreading of STDs and HIV. The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development reported 17% of girls and 29% of boys engaging in sexual intercourse by age 16 (Singer 1994).
Fifty-three percent of high school students in the US reported having had sexual intercourse, thirty-eight percent in the past three
The issue of sex education has long been a controversial one. The two basic types of sex education in the United States are abstinence-only and comprehensive. While comprehensive education advocates abstinence as the primary defense against unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV/AIDS, it also addresses the inevitability that some adolescents have or will engage in sexual behavior. Twenty-one of the fifty states have school districts which provide condom availability programs (Brown, Pennylegion, & Hillard, 1997). Providing information about contraception and how to have “safer” sex is an integral part of comprehensive sex education. Providing condoms in schools is a much debated aspect of some comprehensive programs. In contrast, abstinence-only programs discuss abstinence, or refraining from sex until marriage, as the only guarantee of protection from the growing epidemics of teenage pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. Although published surveys report 68% to 75% of adults have supported distributing condoms in schools (Fanburg, Kaplan, & Naylor, 1995), more than half of students in the United States are being taught abstinence-only curricula, according to a website dedicated to adult sex education, (http://www.eroticuniversity.com/articles/sexed1.htm). Both types of education seek to diminish the growing rate of these problems among adolescents. Advocates of either program have strong opinions on having condoms available to students in school. This issue of condoms in schools is a growing concern because of increasing rates of sexual behavior, earlier onset of sexual activity, teenage pregnancy, and the spreading of STDs and HIV. The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development reported 17% of girls and 29% of boys engaging in sexual intercourse by age 16 (Singer 1994).
Fifty-three percent of high school students in the US reported having had sexual intercourse, thirty-eight percent in the past three
References: Blake, Susan M; Ledsky, Rebecca; Goodenow, Carol; Sawyer, Richard; Lohrmann, David; Windsor, Richard (2003). Condom Availability Programs in Massachusetts High Schools: Relationships With Condom Use and Sexual Behavior Brener, Kirby D; Brown, NL; Peterfreund, N; Hillard, P; Harrist, R (1999). The impact of condom availability in Seattle schools on sexual behavior and condom use. American Journal of Public Health: 89(2), 182-187. Brown, Nancy L; Pennylegion, Michelle T; Hillard, Pamela (1997). A Process Evaluation of Condom Availability in the Seattle, Washington Public Schools. The Journal of School Health: 67(8), 336-340. Fanburg, Jonathan Thomas; Kaplan, David W; Naylor, Kelly E (1995). Student opinions of condom distribution at a Denver, Colorado, high school. Journal of School Health: 65(5), 181-185. Guttmacher, Sally; Lieberman, Lisa; Ward, David; Radosh, Alice; Rafferty, Yvonne; Freudenberg, Nicholas (1995). Parents’ attitudes and beliefs about HIV AIDS prevention with condom availability in New York City public high schools Kirby, Douglas (2000). Making condoms available in schools. Western Journal of Medicine: 172(3), 149-151. Schuster, Mark A; Bell, Robert M; Berry, Sandra H; Kanouse, David E (1998). Impact of a high school condom availability program on sexual attitudes and Behaviors Singer, A (1994). Why schools should make condoms available to teenagers. Educational Leadership: 52(2), 78-79. Wolk, Larry I; Rosenbaum, Ronnie (1995). The Benefits of School-Based Condom Availability: Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Comprehensive High School- Based Program