UCSF's Brindis Discusses Efficacy of Abstinence Education Programs

Federal funding for abstinence education is on the rise: a proposed $191 million dollars for 2008, up $28 million from 2007. But recent studies are raising questions, finding no difference in sexual activity between kids with abstinence education and those without. On Point, produced by WBUR-FM, Boston, examines the effectiveness of sex education for children and adolescents in the current climate of increased federal funding for abstinence education programs. Panelist Claire Brindis, DrPH, says teens need a sex education that goes beyond an abstinence message. Brindis is professor in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, and in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences; director of the Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy; and associate director of the Institute for Health Policy Studies, all at UCSF. Related links: Abstinence Education On Point, WBUR-FM (NPR), June 23, 2007 Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy at UCSF