"The study is one of the first to demonstrate that a program that focuses on parent-child communication can make a difference in the child’s sexual attitudes, said Susan M. Blake, associate research professor at George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services.

"There’s abundant evidence that parents have a lot of influence over children, she said, but very few studies look at whether certain parent-child intervention programs work.

" ‘So that’s what makes this [study] a step in the right direction,’ Ms. Blake said.

"The study, published in the March/April issue of Family Planning Perspectives, found that teens who did abstinence-education homework assignments with their parents developed better communication with their parents than teens who weren’t given homework assignments.

"The teens who did the homework were also significantly more informed about the risks of substance abuse, and had stronger intentions to remain abstinent through high school than other teens, the study said.

"The study was conducted with the ‘Bright Futures’ abstinence-only program, with 351 students, ages 12 to 14, in several suburban middle schools around Rochester, N.Y.

"A pre-study survey showed that around 95 percent of the students were not sexually active.

"All the students were given five classroom sessions, using the ‘Managing the Pressures Before Marriage’ abstinence curriculum.

"About 190 students were also given five homework assignments to do with a parent.

" ‘For example, the first homework activity was as simple as agreeing to a general set of ground rules,’ with parent and child taking turns talking, respecting the other person’s feelings, and trying to learn how the other thinks or feels, said co-author Cheryl Perkins, a program director with Prevention Partners in Rochester, N.Y., which helped coordinate the study.

"Subsequent homework assignments asked questions about such things as choosing a best friend, reasons to postpone sex, what to look for in dating partners and how to handle pressures to have sex.

"At the conclusion of the abstinence program, Ms. Blake and her co-authors interviewed all the teens.

"They found that the teens who had the homework assignments had more confidence that they could reject substance abuse and sexual activity. They were also ‘less likely to intend to have sex before completing high school,’ said the study.

"In addition, many parents and teens said they were ‘delighted’ with the way the homework changed their communication patterns, said Linda Simkin, an official with Academy for Educational Development in New York and a co-author of the study."

—Cheryl Wetzstein, The Washington Times, April 24, 2001, p. A 4