New Study on Virginity Pledges Shows Need for Abstinence Education
Bridget E. Maher
Family Research Council
Culture Facts – April 1, 2005
A recent study in
the Journal of Adolescent Health found both positive and negative results among
young people who make a virginity pledge. Using data from the National
Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the study titled, "After
the Promise: The STD Consequences of Adolescent Virginity Pledges," examined the
effectiveness of virginity pledges in preventing sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs) among 18-24 year olds. The study divided the young people into three
groups: "consistent pledgers" who reported making a virginity pledge in all
three waves of the study, "inconsistent pledgers" who reported making a
virginity pledge in one of three waves of the study and later said they did not
make a pledge and "non-pledgers" who never made a virginity pledge.
Among the study's positive results are that, compared to non-pledgers, those who
make a virginity pledge are 12 times more likely to be virgins at marriage and
they are more likely to delay sexual initiation. The study found that by age 25,
25 percent of consistent male pledgers were virgins compared to 7 percent of
non-pledgers and 15 percent of inconsistent pledgers. Also, virginity pledgers
marry earlier than non-pledgers. The researchers estimated that by age 25, 52
percent of female consistent virginity pledgers were married, compared to 40
percent of inconsistent pledgers and 34 percent of nonpledgers. In addition, the
study found that virginity pledgers have fewer partners and that their partners
are likely to be monogamous.
The study did find that virginity pledgers have similar rates of STDs compared
to non-pledgers and that consistent virginity pledgers are more likely to engage
in oral and anal sex than are inconsistent pledgers and non-pledgers.
Virginity pledges alone are not sufficient to encourage young people to be
abstinent until marriage. Young people also need to participate in an abstinence
education program and to have friends and family who support and encourage them
to remain chaste. Many abstinence programs teach young people how to make a
virginity pledge, but they do much more than this. Abstinence programs teach
young people character education, goal setting, communication skills, the
consequences of premarital sex and the benefits of saving sex until marriage.
Several studies have demonstrated that abstinence programs are very effective in
encouraging teens to delay sexual initiation.