Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Abstinence-Only Sexuality Education in the United States:A Review of Effectiveness Comparison and Policies Development

As two main sexua lity education programs in the United States,abstinence-only sexuality education and comprehensive sexuality education are very different in terms of concept,content and effectiveness. Abstinence-only sexuality education plays a positive role in increasing sexual knowledge of adolescents and keeping their abstinence attitude,but its positive impact on adolescents' behaviors has not been thoroughly proved. By contrast,a large number of studies have proven that comprehensive sexuality education can increase the sexual knowledge of adolescents and improve their sex-related attitudes,and produce some positive impacts on their sexual behaviors. Consequently,American government has transferred its policy preference from abstinence-only sexuality education to comprehensive sexuality education.