A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Student Abstinence-Only Programs and Sexual Behavior and Attitudes

Bibliographic Data

ID9729707
AuthorsWilliam H Jeynes (0000-0002-5392-2995, California State University, Long Beach, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume52
Issue1
Pages3-20
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation and Urban Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0013124519848045
OpenAlexW2945250812
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited17

This meta-analysis of 14 studies examines the relationship between abstinence-only programs and the sexual behavior and—attitudes of urban students from middle school to early in college. The results indicate a significant relationship between abstinence-only programs and the outcomes examined. Abstinence-only programs, as a whole, were associated with reduced premarital sexual behavior by nearly .4 of a standard deviation unit. For sexual behavior and attitudes combined, abstinence-only programs were associated with improvements of nearly .3 of a standard deviation unit. When sophisticated controls were utilized in each of these analyses, the effect sizes were smaller, but were all statistically significant. The importance of these results is discussed

Abstinence · Developmental psychology · Environmental health · Family planning · Mathematics education · Meta-analysis · Population · Psychiatry · Research methodology · Sexual abstinence · Sexual behavior · Standard deviation · Statistics · Unit (ring theory · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Clinical Psychology · Homelessness and Social Issues · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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