The effect of comprehensive sex education on contraceptive use.

摘要

My research question is: does sex education about contraceptive methods influence contraceptive use? I used the National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 6 (year 2002) for my data set to study young women ages 14 to 25. I ran probit models to determine the marginal impact of comprehensive sex education and other variables including race, ethnicity, family structure and intactness, mother's age at first childbirth, having spoken with a parent or guardian regarding birth control methods and where to obtain birth control, relationship with first sexual partner, age at menarche, and age at first sex, and parents' education level on having used birth control at first sex.;Although the results did not show that comprehensive sex education that instructs students in contraceptive methods had a statistically significant marginal effect on the likelihood of using birth control at first sex, several other interesting results showed in the probit models. Being of Hispanic ethnicity had a statistically significant negative marginal effect on the likelihood of using birth control, and age at first sex had a statistically significant positive marginal effect on the likelihood of using birth control at first sex, meaning that the older the respondent was at first sex, the more likely she was to use birth control at first sex. This was true in all of the probit models. Having a mother who had her first child when she (the mother) was a teenager had a statistically significant negative marginal effect on the likelihood of using birth control at first sex in all of the probit models it appeared in. Surprisingly, having discussed birth control methods and where to obtain birth control with a parent had a statistically significant negative marginal effect on the likelihood of the respondent using birth control at first sex. This means that discussing methods of birth control with a parent makes it less likely that the young woman will use birth control.;From a policy perspective, these results indicate that it may be worthwhile to emphasize postponing sexual activity in sex education classes, as this study shows that the older one is, the more likely she is to use birth control. It also indicates that parents may need guidance form health experts on how to discuss birth control options with their children, as this study shows that discussing it is counterproductive. Additionally, although this study did not find a statistically significant marginal effect of comprehensive sex education on the likelihood of birth control use, this does not mean that comprehensive sex education should not be offered or funded, as it has been found to be more effective than abstinence only sex education in other studies.