Two recent studies have bolstered conservatives’ claims about abstinence and teenage substance abuse.
A study published in the latest edition of the journal “adolescent & Family Health” found that 67 percent of the drop in single teen pregnancy rate from 1991 to 1995 was due to abstinence, not birth control. This counters a study released by the Alan Guttmacher Institute in 1999 saying that contraception was the major factor in the drop. Meanwhile, another study published in the March issue of the journal “Psychology of Addictive Behaviors” reported teens who consider religion important in their lives are half as likely as other teens to drink heavily or smoke marijuana and cigarettes.
“These buffering effects could be occurring because religiosity may influence a person’s attitudes and values, providing meaning and purpose in life,” researcher Thomas Ashby Wills stated. “Besides offering coping techniques, being involved with religion can also create more healthy social networks than adolescents would have if they got involved with drugs to find social outlets,” he added.
The number of pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls decreased from 115.8 in 1991 to 101.1 in 1995, according to the study. The number of unmarried teen girls defined as never having had sex or not having had sex in the past year increased from 53 percent to 56 percent. The study was at Yeshiva University in New York by New Jersey physician Joanna Mohn, University of North Carolina-Greensboro professor Lynne Tingle and Colorado physician Reginald Finger.
(BP)
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