Condoms Do Not Increase Teen Sex Study Shows
by Beth Shapiro
365Gay.com Newscenter
New York Bureau

May 28, 2003: (New York City) Teenagers who have easy access to condoms are no more likely to have sex than other teens according to a new research.

The study was done by George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and is certain to anger conservative Christian groups which have attempted to put a halt to condom programs in schools and curtail condom giveaways by AIDS groups.

The organizations have attempted to force the Centers for Disease Control and the US government to put the emphasis on abstaining rather than safe sex.

"The concerns of the small minority of parents who oppose providing condoms or related instruction in schools were not substantiated," wrote lead researcher Susan M. Blake.

The new findings are similar to an earlier study on programs developed in the 1990s to stem the spread of HIV and reduce teen pregnancy.

The new study examined high schools in Massachusetts, where the state Department of Education encouraged schools to develop condom programs.

Among teens who were sexually active, more students at schools where condoms were available said they used condoms the last time they had sex: 66 percent vs. 49 percent at non-condom schools. The students at non-condom schools were more likely to have used other birth control.

Overall, there was no difference in pregnancy rates among students.

The study also found that schools offering condoms were also more likely to teach students how to use them properly. Students at condom schools also were more likely to have received information about HIV and AIDS.

The research is published in this week's edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

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