2017•The Encyclopedia of Juvenile Delinquency and JusticeRequires access
Abstinence Education
Paula Songs, Camille A. Gibson
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Abstract
Abstinence education refers to instructions to minors that sexual abstinence is preferred prior to marriage as a means of preventing pregnancy and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Although abstinence education gained traction in the twenty‐first century, sex education in the United States dates back to the late 1800s when the National Education Association called for moral education in school. Abstinence education has mixed results, but most scholars deem it less than the best approach for adolescents given its narrow focus.