Abstinence Only Until Marriage

Abstinence only until marriage is a term used most recently to describe a deeply contested approach to sexuality education, which exists predominantly in the United States. The main tenets of this form of sexuality education include, but are not limited to, teaching youth that (1) to enjoy good overall health, abstaining from sexual activities with others is necessary; (2) abstaining from sexual contact outside of marriage is not only an expected societal norm, but also the only way to fully protect against contracting sexually transmitted conditions and prevent teenage pregnancies; (3) marriage and monogamy within marriage are socially expected; and (4) engaging in sexual contact with others outside of marriage is likely to result in a number of harmful mental and physical health problems. This ...