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Virginity pledge ineffective against teen sex despite government funding, US study finds

BMJ 2008; 337 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a3168 (Published 30 December 2008) Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a3168
  1. Janice Hopkins Tanne
  1. 1New York

    US teenage virgins who pledged to abstain from sex until they were married had sexual behaviour in the next five years similar to that of teenagers who had not taken an abstinence pledge, a study has shown (Pediatrics 2009, doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0407).

    But contraceptive use differed between the groups. Five years later, teenagers who had pledged virginity were less likely to protect themselves against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, 84% of teenagers who had pledged virginity denied that they had ever done so.

    Teenagers should get comprehensive …

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