You know that $200 million plus that we spend each year on "abstinence only" sex education? Well, it might be an even bigger waste of sex-ed money than first thought. UVA doctoral candidate Paige Harden, with the help of colleagues and her advisor, is set to release an new study debunking the previously (and widely) held belief that teens who lose their virginity earlier than their peers are more likely to become juvenile delinquents.
Not so, says Harden in today’s Washington Post. "Other things being equal," writes the Post’s Rick Weiss, "a more probing study has found, youngsters who have consensual sex in their early-teen or even preteen years are, if anything, less likely to engage in delinquent behavior later on."
The new study makes Virginia governor Tim Kaine look pretty smart. He’s proposed eliminating state funding for "abstinence only" sex-ed programs, citing a government study (yes, another one) that found they just don’t work any better than other programs.
Previous "This Just In" articles from this week:
Crack sentences may get reduced [November 13]
Julian Bond supports move