Original articles
After the promise: The STD consequences of adolescent virginity pledges

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.01.005Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

To examine the effectiveness of virginity pledges in reducing STD infection rates among young adults (ages 18–24).

Methods

Data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative study of students enrolled in grades 7–12 in 1995. During a follow-up survey in 2001–2002, respondents provided urine samples, which were tested for Human Papilloma Virus, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Trichomoniasis. We report descriptive results for the relationship of pledge status and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates as well as health behaviors commonly associated with STD infection.

Results

Pledgers are consistently less likely to be exposed to risk factors across a wide range of indicators, but their STD infection rate does not differ from nonpledgers. Possible explanations are that pledgers are less likely than others to use condoms at sexual debut and to be tested and diagnosed with STDs.

Conclusions

Adopting virginity pledges as intervention may not be the optimal approach to preventing STD acquisition among young adults.

Section snippets

Data and methods

The initial results on the impact of virginity pledges on the transition to first sex arose from analyses of the first two waves of data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (hereafter, Add Health). In this article, we consider data from the 3rd in-home wave of Add Health interviews, when respondents were 18–24 years old. This enables us to consider the long-term consequences of adolescent pledging on the sexual behavior and STD acquisition dynamics of young adults.

Of the

STD acquisition

Bio-marker rates were as follows: TR (2.3%, 95% CI 1.8–2.8%), CH (4.2%, 95% CI 3.6–4.9%), GC (0.4%, 95% CI 0.3–0.6%), HPV (28.8%, 95% CI 26.3–31.4%). Although these rates may be somewhat lower than those found in the literature, it bears noting that they are derived from a representative random sample of the population aged 18–24 years. Other studies use clinical samples or special populations and may therefore overestimate STD prevalence [10]. STD acquisition varies significantly by race and

Discussion

Contrary to expectations, we found no significant differences in STD infection rates between pledgers and nonpledgers, despite the fact that they transition to first sex later, have less cumulative exposure, fewer partners, and lower levels of nonmonogamous partners. Examination of the point estimates revealed small or nonexistent differences between pledgers and others, with the exception of white respondents. Advocates for abstinence-only education assert that premarital abstinence and

Acknowledgments

This research uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population

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Copyright © 2005 Society for Adolescent Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.