NCJ Number
117641
Date Published
1988
Length
3 pages
Annotation
AIDS education for teenagers should emphasize that abstinence is the only completely effective method of preventing the sexual transmission of the AIDS virus and should also acknowledge that sexual activity does or might take place by including a description of safer sex activities.
Abstract
Such an approach does not promote teen sexual activity. Instead, it endorses care and thoughtfulness about decisions affecting health and longevity. Teen abstinence would result in fewer sexually transmitted diseases with their associated health problems as well as a drop in the rates of teenage pregnancy and AIDS infection. However, it is inappropriate to suggest that abstinence is the only acceptable teaching for AIDS prevention. Adolescents are making their own decisions about sexual behavior, whether we want them to or not. Many are deciding not to be sexually abstinent. We must recognize the overt and covert messages that they receive from their peers and the media and that endorse and encourage sexual activity. Adults can help teenagers balance the picture by teaching them skills related to values clarification, decisionmaking, and assertiveness. These lessons go well beyond the scope of AIDS education alone. We can present abstinence as the best of several possible choices for teens, but we must be honest about the full spectrum of prevention options for a population that is already quite active sexually.