Public Health Institute Public Health Institute Brown·Miller Commun.
(510) 285-5533 (925) 284-8118 (800) 710-9333
OAKLAND,
CA, May 24, 2006…
Craig and Mary are raising their three daughters in an evangelical, Republican
household in Redding, California. Given their demographics, you might expect
them to be fierce supporters of the Bush Administration’s
abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education policy. You would, however, be
wrong.
According to the
first-ever statewide poll of parents devoted to this topic, a whopping 89
percent of California parents want students to receive comprehensive sex
education that includes information about contraception and protection from
sexually transmitted diseases – a desire that remains uniform regardless of the
parents’ locale, religion, politics, race or education level.
“We were astonished by
how universal this support is for comprehensive sex education,” admits the
study’s primary author, Dr. Norman Constantine of the Public Health Institute’s
Center for Research on Adolescent Health and
Development. “We expected these high levels of support in liberal urban areas
but did not anticipate the equally high levels of support in California’s more
conservative, rural settings – especially among self-identified evangelical Christian
parents. What this shows is that the vast majority of parents put the health
and safety of their children above politics and ideology.”
The rigorous
study asked 1,284 parents throughout California what they wanted students to be
taught during sex education classes. Abstinence-only sex education is presently
the national policy, however, for over a decade California has declined federal
funding that mandates abstinence-only education – a pattern other states are
now following. Nine out of ten California parents chose comprehensive sex
education, and parents were nearly unanimous (96 percent) in opposition to
abstinence-only requirements that prohibit instruction in or promotion of the
use of contraceptive methods at any grade level.
No single
subgroup by region, religion, income, education or political party dipped below
an 80 percent support level for comprehensive sex education. The lowest level
of support was recorded by those who identified themselves as “very
conservative,” but even they showed overwhelming support at 71 percent. Perhaps
most surprising was that 86 percent of those self-identifying as evangelical
Christians reported supporting comprehensive sex education.
According to
Constantine, the strong support for a comprehensive approach to sex education
is encouraging in light of California’s escalating levels of sexually
transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. “We have to make sure that students
receive age-appropriate, medically accurate and comprehensive information about
how they can protect themselves,” Constantine said.
And although any sex
education in California schools is required by law to be comprehensive,
Constantine points out there are serious flaws in how that education actually
is provided. A recent school-district survey found that nearly half (48
percent) of schools are not covering all required topics, and 88 percent
violated one or more of the sex education provisions of California's Education
Code.
“These findings should
clear the way for wary educators in every region of the state to embrace the
comprehensive sex education programs consistent with California law,”
Constantine said. “School superintendents, administrators and educators can now
be assured that they have the support of parents, as well as the law, in
providing quality, comprehensive programs.”
The study’s
results will be published in the September issue of Perspectives on Sexual
and Reproductive Health, and a summary report can be found at: http://teenbirths.phi.org.
The Public Health
Institute is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting
health, well-being and quality of life. The study was funded by a grant from
The California Wellness Foundation.
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