Two members of a Centers for Disease Control team that evaluated studies of sex education programs have raised alarms, reporting that the data actually conflicts with the agency's stated conclusion that comprehensive programs such as those emphasizing "safe sex" over abstinence are working.
They issued a minority report to warn policymakers and educators against relying too heavily on the majority document.
"According to this minority report, the study recommendations may mislead policymakers by presenting conclusions that don't match key study findings," confirmed Paul Birch, chief of the Institute for Research and Evaluation. "The report is important because it allows differing views on this research to be presented at a time when Congress is re-examining sex education policy."
The overall study, called "Group-based Interventions to Prevent Adolescent Pregnancy, HIV, and Other STDs," stated the effectiveness of programs that include condom instruction.
It was based on the compilation of 83 studies done from 1980 through 2007 and was released just in time to be considered for President Obama's request to cut money from abstinence education programs and give it to comprehensive programs that teach kids to use condoms.
But according to Ericksen, a research analyst with the Institute for Research and Evaluation in Salt Lake City, the statistics inside the study showed no difference between abstinence education and so-called "comprehensive sex education" on key factors including teen condom use, sexual activity, pregnancy and STDs.
According to the South-Dakota-based Abstinence Clearinghouse, the statistics actually revealed that abstinence programs produced a significant reduction in teen sexual activity, as documented by 10 studies from six authors.
"But the researchers discounted these results because several randomized AE studies showed lesser effects, even though these studies had important design problems that called into question their impact," the organization reported.
Leslee Unruh, the president of Abstinence Clearinghouse, said the report that may not be supported by its documentation is concerning.
"These results present a different picture than the study's published conclusions, especially for school-based CSE," she said. "Policy makers deserve accurate information regarding the lack of effects of these condom-centered programs.
"Moreover, the emotional health of our children is as important as their physical health and condom education fails youth in both of these areas. Abstinence education protects both," she said.
The underlying statistics were not being released by the CDC, the minority report said.
"The Task Force has made public its Recommendation Statements without also making available to the public the full set of study findings upon which the recommendations are based – both supporting and otherwise. The reason given for this decision is that the data from the study has not yet been scientifically cleared by the CDC for release to the public. However, this policy prevents the public from scrutinizing the body of evidence underlying the CDC Task Force Recommendations in the same time frame in which the CDC recommendations will influence the decisions of policymakers and public health professionals," the report said.
Unruh told WND that there's a huge danger from releasing conclusions that are not adequately supported by evidence. Policymakers in state legislatures and in Washington will determine to what programs to assign state and federal dollars in support of their efforts, but without accurate information, it's like pouring money down a drain.
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