Gaps found in young people's sex knowledge (Thanks to abstienence only ed)

[Shallah Kali]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/15/sex.report/

The numbers may reflect that while most people have heard of the pill and condoms, they have never been taught how to use the pill or where to get it, or how to put on a condom, said Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine and an adolescent medicine specialist with Grady Health Systems in Atlanta, Georgia.

Myths about pregnancy and sexual activity continue to permeate circles of young people. For instance, 28 percent of men incorrectly believe they will get extra protection from wearing two condoms at once, a practice that actually leads to condom breakage. At the same time, 18 percent of men wrongly believe that having sex standing up reduces the chance that they will get a female partner pregnant.

snip

Albert said it was shocking that about four in 10 respondents said it doesn't matter whether people use birth control, believing that people get pregnant when it's their "time."

snip

Nearly half the adults surveyed said they agreed that "drug companies don't care if birth control is safe; they just want people to use it so they can make money." Thirty-two percent said they agreed that "the government is trying to limit blacks and other minority populations by encouraging the use of birth control."

Still, according to a 2002 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading contraceptive method among women ages 15 to 29 is the pill.

While the actual rate of infertility among people 18 to 29 years old is 8 percent, a great deal more think they may fall into that category -- 59 percent of women and 49 percent of men said it is at least slightly likely they are infertile, and 75 percent of people who had concerns about fertility did not worry about it because of information from a doctor.

[nemo137]

1. As someone who went through abstinence-only sex ed

let me register my complete lack of surprise.

[Ken Burch]

2. BTW, how effective was it with YOU?

Still abstaining?

[nemo137]

6. At the risk of over-sharing...

No. I also sought out information in BC/STI protection. I did believe the two-condoms-are-better-than-one myth until set straight by a girlfriend, though.

edited for spelling.

[Ken Burch]

7. Glad to hear it.

I abstained as a teenager. But not really by choice. The vodka helps me forget.

[jberryhill]

9. TWO condoms?

I'll add this to my "you know you are getting old when..." list.

That's an old joke.... "I always wear two condoms. Then, when I want to have sex, I take one off and feel like a wild man."

I like the bit about having sex standing up reducing the chance of pregnancy.

Heh... having sex standing up reduces my chances of having sex.

[FarCenter]

3. Actually, this seems pretty good, compared with students knowledge of other subjects

Like civics, geography, math, English, ...

[Odin2005]

4. When I was in HS my health teacher was a Fundy lady who made up absolute BS when it came to BC.

I got detention because I criticized her BS stats about condoms which came right out of anti-BC fundy propaganda.

[tanyev]

5. Local news had an interview with a young girl at an alternative high school for young mothers.

She got pregnant when she was 14, the second time she had sex. When she didn't get pregnant the first time she had sex, she assumed that she was not able to have children.

x(

[glen123098]

8. I was shocked to find out that my last girlfriend never heard of the morning after pill.

Seriously, what are they teaching in school.

[Ocracoker16]

10. Abstinence only sex ed just contributes to teen pregnancy

These kids have no clue how to protect themselves from pregnanacy and STI's. They end up having some pretty strange ideas about protection. Yes, condoms are very effective, but only when they are used correctly. Having been a health ed major, I had to learn how to teach sex education. I had to be able to give a demonstration of how to correctly use a condom. It is not as easy as it looks. Kids need to learn how to use it as part of sex education classes. There are mistakes that will significantly decrease the efficacy of these things.