Prevention of HIV/AIDS, other STIs and Pregnancy: Group-based Abstinence Education Interventions for Adolescents
Abstinence Education (AE) promotes abstinence from sexual activity (either delayed initiation or abstinence until marriage) and mentions condoms or other birth control methods only to highlight their failure rates if at all. These interventions generally include messages regarding the psychological and health benefits of abstinence, and most adhere to eight federal guidelines required to obtain federal funding (the Federal A-H guidelines). This review evaluated AE interventions delivered in school or community settings to groups of adolescents (10 to 19 years old). These interventions could also include other components, such as media campaigns and community service events.
Task Force Recommendations & Findings
The Task Force on Community Preventive Services concludes that there is insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of group-based abstinence education delivered to adolescents to prevent pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Evidence was considered insufficient due to inconsistent results across studies.
Task Force findings and rationale statement
These results were based on a systematic review of all available studies, conducted on behalf of the Task Force by a team of specialists in systematic review methods, and in research, practice and policy related to adolescent health and prevention of pregnancy, HIV and other STIs.
Results from the Systematic Reviews
The Task Force recommendation presented on this page was reviewed in June 2009 and finalized in October 2009. A more detailed summary will be posted here in the future. Please sign up for updates to be notified of this posting.
Supporting Materials
Publications
More Community Guide publications about Prevention of HIV/AIDS, other STIs and Pregnancy
Disclaimer
The findings and conclusions on this page are those of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services and do not necessarily represent those of CDC.
Sample Citation
The content of publications of the Guide to Community Preventive Services is in the public domain. Citation as to source, however, is appreciated. Sample citation: Guide to Community Preventive Services. Prevention of HIV/AIDS, other STIs and Pregnancy: Group-based abstinence education interventions for adolescents. www.thecommunityguide.org/hiv/abstinence_ed.html. Last updated: MM/DD/YYYY.
Review completed: June 2009
- Page last reviewed: March 9, 2010
- Page last updated: March 9, 2010
- Content source: The Guide to Community Preventive Services
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