Most Parents Support Abstinence

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Most Parents Support Abstinence

Special Report - October 10, 2012
A new national survey finds overwhelming support for abstinence education among parents in the United States, regardless of race or political affiliation. The survey, “Parents Speak Out,” was commissioned by the National Abstinence Education Foundation (NAEF) and conducted by Pulse Opinion Research. Released on October 9, it details the findings from a recent national telephone survey of 1,683 likely voters with children ages nine to 16. It found that the overwhelming majority of parents in the survey, including both Republicans and Democrats, support abstinence education, and believe that sexual abstinence is best for their child’s future.

Among the key findings in the survey that are worth noting:

86 percent of parents in the agree that, “being sexually abstinent is best for my child’s health and future;”
79 percent of all parents support abstinence education programs for their child;
Almost nine in 10 parents who identify as Republican and nearly eight in 10 parents who identify as Democrat support abstinence education. Specifically, 87 percent of Republican parents in the survey and 76 percent of Democrats.
More than eight in 10 parents, but especially women and African Americans, support the “dominant themes of abstinence education.” For example, 78 percent of all parents said they would like their teen to wait to have sex. Among African American parents, support was much higher, with 87 percent expressing support for this statement.
Almost 90 percent of all parents in the survey “support their children knowing the limitations of condoms for preventing pregnancy and disease.” This includes: 95 percent of African Americans, 91 percent of Republicans, 90 percent of Democrats, and 89 percent of Whites and Hispanics in the survey.
85 percent of all parents in the survey support the belief that “all youth, regardless of their sexual orientation, benefit from skills that help them delay sex.”
64 percent of all parents in the survey support federal “sex education funding that is more equally divided between” Comprehensive Sex Education and Abstinence Education programs.
50 percent of parents in the survey said that more government funding should be given to teaching Abstinence Education, while 37 percent said more funding should go toward Comprehensive Sex Education (13 percent of parents were unsure).

“If sex education were on the November ballot, abstinence education would win by a landslide, and not just among Republicans,” Valerie Huber, president of the NAEF, said in a press release. “Critics portray abstinence education as a religious or political issue that has no place in our public schools. But this survey shows abstinence education is a women’s issue, a Hispanic issue, an African-American issue, a health issue and a common-sense issue with strong support across ethnic groups, age demographics and political affiliation.”

Related resources:
Study Finds Abstinence Effective - April 3, 2012
Federal Abstinence Funds Restored - January 10, 2012
More Teens Delaying Sex - November 23, 2011
Abstinence Increasing Among Teens - March 8, 2011
NC Requests Abstinence Funds - September 27, 2010
Parents Strongly Favor Abstinence - August 25, 2010
Abstinence Funding Returns - May 28, 2010
Some Abstinence Funding Restored - March 30, 2010
Abstinence Programs Prove Effective - March 3, 2010
2010 Budget Removes Abstinence Funding - July 31, 2009
Ten Reasons to Keep Abstinence Education in NC - FNC - Jul/Aug, 2008
Title V Abstinence Funding Expires - July 1, 2009