A South Carolina supplemental abstinence-only sex education program made no difference in the sexual behavior of teenagers, but teens who participated in the program were more likely to support abstinence messages, according to a study conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and published last month by HHS, the Washington Times reports.

The study was conducted for HHS to examine the effects of a supplemental abstinence program rather than a full abstinence program, according to the Times. For the study, 604 students took Heritage Community Services' core abstinence education program called Heritage Keepers, but only half participated in the group's supplemental Life Skills Education program, Christopher Trenholm of Mathematica said.

The study found that students who took the supplemental courses were significantly more likely to support abstinence messages and to say they expected to abstain from sex at least through high school, if not until marriage, compared with students who did not take the courses. However, the study found that 40% of both groups reported having sex at least once and did not differ in the age they first had sex or their number of sexual partners.

Title V
Heritage is a grantee of the federal Title V abstinence education program, the Times reports (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 9/5). The Title V program distributes money based on a formula favoring states with more low-income children. To receive Title V funds, states must adhere to certain requirements, including barring teachers from discussing contraception and requiring them to say that sex within marriage is "the expected standard of sexual activity." Many state governors have said the grants place too many restrictions on the curricula. The House and Senate earlier this year voted to extend the program until Sept. 30 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/18).

According to the Times, the House earlier this year passed a measure (HR 3162) that would extend the program for two years and authorize $50 million in funding. The measure, which has not yet been considered in the Senate, would allow states to use abstinence education funds for other types of sex education (Washington Times, 9/5). The bill also would require all programs that receive funding to provide medically accurate information and demonstrate effectiveness in reducing rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/2).

Reaction
The support for abstinence messages among the group that took the supplemental courses is "an important starting point," Trenholm said, adding, "You would not expect to see behavioral changes down the road if you didn't see changes" in expectations. Martha Kempner of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States on Tuesday said that the study shows that "if it's a bad message, you can pound it into a kid's head every day throughout a school year, and it's still not going to make a difference."

She added that she was particularly unhappy with the lack of knowledge about condom efficacy among study participants. Many of the teens thought condoms would not prevent most HIV transmission, Kempner said. Anne Badgley, founder of Heritage Community Services, referred questions to Mathematica about the study (Washington Times, 9/5).

The study is available online.