Buttsex doesn't count.

I've noted previously that teens who go through abstinence-only sex ed programs show no statistical difference in rates of sexual activity from those who don't. To be fair, though, county-mandated classes can only go so far. Real changes happen on the individual level. So what about the kids who sign the much-ballyhooed virginity pledges? Well, not so clear cut there either.

Although teenagers who take "virginity pledges" begin engaging in vaginal intercourse [an average of 18 months] later than teens who have not committed to remain abstinent until marriage, they also are more likely to engage in oral or anal sex than nonpledging virgin teens and less likely to use condoms once they become sexually active.

Bad combo, that.

Because pledgers typically delayed sexual activity, had fewer sexual partners and married earlier than nonpledgers, the researchers "looked for explanations" as to why the differences in STD rates were not statistically significant, Bearman said, the Times reports (Washington Times, 3/19). The gap between pledgers and nonpledgers for high-risk behavior was statistically significant, with 2% of virgins who did not pledge reporting engaging in anal or oral sex, compared with 13% of those who did pledge (Washington Post, 3/19). According to Bruckner, the pledgers' increased likelihood of substituting oral or anal sex for vaginal intercourse puts them at risk of contracting STDs, according to Bruckner. Among virgins, boys who had pledged abstinence were four times as likely to have engaged in anal sex as those who did not pledge, and pledgers overall were six times as likely to have engaged in oral sex as teens who were virgins but did not take a pledge, the study found. In addition, teens who made virginity pledges were less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience and were less likely to get tested for STDs, the study found (Detroit Free Press, 3/19).

This, of course, carries the logical corollary that the pledgers also were less likely to "know their STD status, which could increase their risk of STD transmission to sexual partners." But predictably:

Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, called the study "bogus" and said that the supposed pledgers had not pledged true abstinence, which forbids oral and anal sex.

Yes, the problem is obviously a lack of specificity. I can see it now: "Let's see. I promise, yadda yadda yadda, on my honor, skim skim skim... No, I don't see the words Cleveland or steamer anywhere in there. I think we're in the clear on this one."