Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

UK Health Booklet's Message: Teen Sex Can Be Fun

More news from the UK on teen sexuality. It seems odd to me that on the heels of determining that a government sponsored comprehensive sex education program was deemed a failure (see my blog post on 7/9/09 "UK Initiative to Cut Teen Pregnancies Had Reverse Effect") that this new teen sexuality pamphlet, entitled "Pleasure" is being released by the UK's National Health Service.

It's my contention that comprehensive sex education needs to be combined with training on morals and values and that parents need to take the lead in this endeavor. Check out HomeWord.com for our resources on teaching kids healthy sexuality, including Jim Burns' book Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality. Jim also has books targeted directly for pre-teens and tweens, The Purity Code, and for teens, Accept Nothing Less.

Be aware that the excerpt from the news item posted below is quite graphic in its description.

One final note before the news item. A topic which receives a lot of focus in the UK sex education pamphlet is masturbation. Although this may be one of the toughest sexual topics that parents can talk to their kids about, it is an important topic nonetheless. Most parents simply don't know what to say to their kids about this issue. You might benefit from reading my article, "Talking to Your Kids About Masturbation" on the HomeWord.com website.

Britain's National Health Service has a message for teens: Sex can be fun.

Health officials are trying to change the tone of sex education by urging teachers to emphasize that sexual relations can be healthy and pleasurable instead of simply explaining the mechanics of sex and warning about diseases.

The new pamphlet, called "Pleasure," has sparked some opposition from those who believe it encourages promiscuity among teens in a country that already has high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

The National Health Service in the city of Sheffield produced the booklet, which has a section called "an orgasm a day" that encourages educators to tell teens about the positive physical and emotional effects of sex and masturbation, which is described as an easy way for people to explore their bodies and feel good. Like more traditional sex education guides, it encourages demonstrations about how to use condoms and other contraceptives.

The booklet suggests ways in which teachers can encourage sexual awareness and responsibility while teaching young people that sex is something that is meant to be enjoyed.

Steve Slack, who helped produce the leaflet as Director of the Center for HIV & Sexual Health in Sheffield, said one goal is to help young people learn to resist peer pressure and delay having sex until they are emotionally ready.

"Far from promoting teenage sex, it is designed to encourage young people to delay losing their virginity until they are sure they will enjoy the experience," he said.

Slack said some of the ideas in the booklet came from the Netherlands, which is well known in Europe for its liberal attitude toward sexual behavior.

But the pamphlet is condemned by some educators who believe it will lead to more casual sex among teens.

Source: AP/Google
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqhQp07xJAWEUOm9uRdznHXmtG7QD99EADC00

UK Initiative to Cut Teenage Pregnancies Had Reverse Effect

A government drive to lower the rate of teenage pregnancies has backfired, actually increasing the number of school-age mothers in England, a study confirms today.

The Young People’s Development Programme (YPDP) was extended to 27 parts of England between 2004 and 2007 after reports from the United States suggested that it could reduce unplanned pregnancies and alcohol and cannabis misuse among teenagers. It cost £5.9 million.

Independent research published in the British Medical Journal found that young girls who attended were “significantly” more likely to become pregnant than those in a comparison group.

A total of 16 per cent of the YPDP group became pregnant, compared with 6 per cent in the other group, a youth programme not receiving YPDP funds. This was despite those in the YPDP group having education about sex and drugs and being no more sexually active than the other group.

The girls were given intensive health education and free condoms in the hope that this would enable them to avoid unprotected sex.

Sources:
Times Online
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6662124.ece

Mail Online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1198462/How-teen-pregnancies-Left-admits-sex-education-disaster.html

New Survey Confirms 1 in 5 Teens Sext

A recently released survey from Cox Communications in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and John Walsh found that 1 in 5 teens (19%) have been involved in "sexting" — sending, receiving or forwarding sexually suggestive text messages. These findings are consistent with a previous survey released in 2008.

This new survey included helpful information, breaking down the 19% cumulative figure into percentages of teens involved in specific behaviors:

Teens that have sent sexts: 9%
Teens that have received sexts: 17%
Teens that have forwarded sexts to others: 3%

Largely, those teens who sent sexts said the messages were sent to a boyfriend/girlfriend (60%).

Perhaps most disturbing was the number of teens (11%) who sent sexts to someone they did not know.

About 80% of teens who sext are under the age of 18, with the highest age group of sexters (24%) was 17-year-olds.

Of teens surveyed, 74% believe that sexting is wrong.

Of teen sexters, senders are more likely to be girls (65%).

Teens who sext spend more time online per week (31.7 hours) compared to the overall average of teens surveyed (26.8 hours).

Source: Cox Communications
http://www.cox.com/takecharge/safe_teens_2009/media/2009_teen_survey_internet_and_wireless_safety.pdf

For more information on sexting, read my article, "Sexting: A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe".

Fathers Respond To Teens' Risky Sexual Behavior

A new longitudinal study finds that when adolescents engage in risky sexual activity, fathers respond by increasing their efforts to supervise and monitor their children.

Researchers at Boston College, the University of Pittsburgh, and Harvard University conducted the study, which appears in the May/June 2009 issue of the journal Child Development.

The study suggests that fathers react differently than mothers to their children's sexual behavior. When teens engaged in risky sexual behavior, instead of parents becoming less involved, as previously seen, fathers boosted their involvement, learning more about their children's friends and activities. This finding contradicts previous research, which has found that parents react with hostility and are less engaged following such discoveries.

This study also identified involvement in family activities as a protective force. Specifically, it found that teens who took part in routine family activities like eating meals together or joining in fun projects were less likely to engage in risky sexual activity, and teens who didn't engage in risky sexual behavior were more likely to participate in family activities.

Source: EurekAlert
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/sfri-frt050809.php

New Budget Cuts Funds For Abstinence-Only Sex Education

President Obama's new budget would eliminate most money for abstinence-only sex education and shift it to teen pregnancy prevention — a U-turn in what has been more than a decade of sex education policy in the USA.

The proposed budget, sent to Congress last Thursday, "reflects the research," says Melody Barnes, director of the team that coordinates White House domestic policy.

"In any area where Americans want to confront a problem, they want solutions they know will work, as opposed to programming they know hasn't proven to be successful. Given where we've been in recent years, I think this is a very important moment," she says.

Abstinence-only sex education programs, which emphasize a no-sex-until-marriage message, received almost $1.3 billion in federal dollars from fiscal years 2001-2009, according to the Office of Management and Budget. At the same time, studies of abstinence-only programs have shown little success; the most often-cited study, released in 2007, was congressionally mandated and federally funded and found that abstinence-only programs don't prevent or delay teen sex.

Obama's budget proposes almost $178 million for teen pregnancy prevention, including $110 million for community-based programs. About 75% of that is for programs proven to have delayed sex and increased contraceptive use or reduced teen pregnancy. The other 25% could be for "innovative" programs.

Obama "is open to innovation, and that could include abstinence-only if there is some indication it would work," Barnes says.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-11-abstinence-only_N.htm

Kids Who Watch Adult TV May Have Sex Earlier

The results of this study provides me with an opportunity to encourage parents to be proactive in establishing limits on what television programs their young children watch. It's wise to remember that television has the power to influence, both positively and negatively.

The younger children are exposed to content intended for adults in television and movies, the earlier they become sexually active during adolescence, according to a new study released by Children's Hospital Boston.

The longitudinal study consisted of 754 children between ages 6 and 18. Researchers tracked the participants at two stages: once during childhood and again five years later between ages 12 to 18 to see how much adult television they were watching on a sample weekday and sample weekend day. The participants' onset of sexual activity was then followed during the second stage.

The study found that for every hour the youngest group of children watched adult-targeted content over the two sample days, their chances of having sex during early adolescence increased by 33 percent.

"Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents," says the study's lead author Dr. Hernan Delgado, a fellow in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston. "Our research shows that their sexual attitudes and expectations are influenced much earlier in life."

Source: SFGate
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=39615&tsp=1

Teen Drug Education Also Helps Curb Risky Sexual Behavior

School-based drug education programs for adolescents can have a long-term positive impact on sexual behavior in addition to curbing substance abuse, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Researchers found that young adults who had been exposed to a popular drug abuse prevention program as adolescents were less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior five to seven years later, according to the findings published online by the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study provides the strongest evidence to date that drug abuse prevention programs can also curb risky sexual practices in young adulthood.

"The lessons these young people learned about how to avoid drug and alcohol abuse appears to have had a positive impact on their sexual behavior as well," said Phyllis Ellickson, the lead author of the study and a researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

The study found that youth exposed to a drug abuse education program were significantly less likely as young adults to either engage in sex with multiple partners or to have unprotected sex because of drug and alcohol use than their peers who had not received the training.

Source: ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429111247.htm

Troubling New Research About Tweens and Sex

Recent research by the University of Texas reveals risky sexual behaviors by middle school students in a large southeastern U.S. urban public school district. Studies such as these are noteworthy, yet because they are limited in geographic scope, it's not always a clear jump to the conclusion that even if the information is reliable (in the past it's been noted that kids don't always tell the truth when surveyed on sexual issues,) that these findings can be projected as applying to all tweens throughout the country.

I've noted before (and I'm sure that I will do so again in the future) that the parental role in educating and equipping kids to develop healthy sexuality—including values that serve as the foundation for sexuality—is key.

The MSN article excerpt (below) concludes that the evidence of this study and others demonstrates the ineffectiveness of abstinence education and promotes a shift to other sex education models that focus on safe sex practices and effective use of contraceptives. I am not opposed to abstinence education, nor a comprehensive approach to sex education. Still, any approach that does not promote parental involvement in the process, falls short of providing the morals and values components of sexuality that kids today so desperately need.

A troubling new study that reveals that some middle schoolers are engaging in behavior that's much riskier than texting naughty cell phone photos.

Researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health examined sexual risk behaviors among middle school students in a large southeastern U.S. urban public school district and found that by age 12, 12 percent of students had already engaged in vaginal sex, 7.9 percent in oral sex, 6.5 percent in anal sex and 4 percent in all three types of intercourse.

While the majority of seventh graders in the study were not sexually active, those in the 12 percent are putting themselves at risk for pregnancy and diseases. The study found one-third of sexually active students reported engaging in vaginal or anal sex without a condom within the past three months, and one-fourth had four or more partners.

These findings, coupled with a report in The Washington Post that the teen birth rate has risen for the second consecutive year, provide new evidence that abstinence-only education is ineffective and that the $162 million in federal funding spent annually to support those programs perhaps ought to be shifted to those that promote safer sex practices and the effective use of contraceptives.

Source: MSN
http://health.msn.com/blogs/daily-dose-post.aspx?post=1049622

Study Has Mostly Good News About Online Predator Risk

The stereotypical online predator just might be a myth, according to new research released by the Crimes Against Children Research Center. Of note, there was no evidence that online predators used personal information obtained from social networking websites to stalk or abduct unsuspecting victims. Rather, most underage sex crimes involving online predators (who were arrested) were with adolescents that knew they were communicating with older adults who wanted sex, and willingly went to meet the offenders face-to-face.

The news from a new online predator study is mostly good. Researchers from the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center (CCRC) found only a modest increase in the number of adults arrested for solicitation of actual minors, which could be accounted for by the growth in the number of youth Internet users.

In 2006 there were 615 arrests for soliciting a real child, compared with 508 in 2000 and during that interval the percentage of young people using the Internet grew from 73 percent to 93 percent. The study defined young people as ages 17 and below. (To put that into some kind of perspective, there were more than 25 million 12- to 17-year-olds in the U.S. in 2006 based on U.S. Census Bureau data as reported on ChildStats.gov.)

The time span covered by this new study coincides with the advent of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, which weren't around in 2000. And considering the numbers, it should help dispel the hysteria about the so-called predator dangers on social-networking sites.

The study did reveal a very significant number of sting operation arrests in which the offender approached an undercover police officer posing as a minor. That's a crime and, says CCRC Director David Finkelhor, these sting operations may have played a major role in helping to reduce the number of actual victims by taking predators off the street and deterring others from even trying.

The study found that during 2006, 87 percent of the arrests involved solicitation of undercover cops, and 13 percent of the cases involved actual minors. To put this into perspective, online predator arrests that year accounted for only 1 percent of all arrests for sex crimes against children.

Source: CNET News
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10208135-238.html

To read the report of the National Juvenile Online Victimization study from the Crimes Against Children Research Center, click here.

US Judge Rules For Teen Girls In "Sexting" Case

The article excerpt below notes that a Federal judge has blocked a Pennsylvania prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls that sexted. It's worthwhile to note that child pornography and child protection laws (such as Megan's Law) were created in the days before sexting. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors are stepping up to stem the tide of sexting, but are applying these laws to sexting teens in ways that were never imagined when the laws were drafted. As noted in previous posts on this subject, a debate has emerged over whether these laws should be applied to cases of sexting. The debate is necessary, and perhaps in time, new laws will be enacted that apply directly to sexting that include appropriate punishments instead of felony charges and stigmas of teens becoming registered sexual offenders.

A U.S. judge on Monday barred a Pennsylvania prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls caught with sexually suggestive pictures of themselves on their cell phones.

U.S. District Judge James Munley said he was issuing a restraining order on Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick because his proposed action would violate freedom of speech and parental rights.

"The court agrees with the plaintiffs that the public interest would be served by issuing a TRO (temporary restraining order) in this matter as the public interest is on the side of protecting constitutional rights," the judge said.

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNews/idUSN3034377920090331