David Goosenberg (student #53726121)

Instructor: Todd Martin, TA: Andrea Polonijo

FMST 314 (001) Development of Relationships
November 22, 2015

Sex and Intimate Relationships: The Importance of Comprehensive Sex Education

For various reasons, many people believe that sex is a subject unworthy of rigorous

academic investigation, and should be treated as a private issue. This is problematic, because sex

is undoubtedly a significant facet of intimate relationships, and human social relations in general.

I decided to focus on the topics of sex, and sex education; because in hindsight, the sexual

education that I received in school was incomplete, and relied heavily on scare tactics to

(unsuccessfully) prevent students from engaging in sexual behavior. As a result, by the time that

I began dating and became sexually active, I was unprepared to make important and informed

decisions regarding my body and sexual behavior. Sex is pleasurable, but it can certainly be risky

as well. In recent history in North America and beyond school curriculums have generally

relied on either comprehensive, or abstinence-only forms of sex education. In theory, these two

main sex education techniques share the mutual intention of preventing pregnancy and ill health

in young people; but in practice, these techniques are more dissimilar than they are alike.

Abstinence-only sex education teaches abstinence from sex until marriage, and often fails to

incorporate critical information related to sexual health, such as the importance of using

contraceptives. Whereas comprehensive programs take a more positive, educational, and

straightforward approach towards sex education. It is very common for unmarried teenagers and

young adults to engage in sexual activity, which is why it is crucial to provide the youth with

accurate information regarding the practice of safe sex. The results of various empirical studies

indicate that abstinence-only sex education is not an effective way of promoting safe sexual

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behavior, and may in fact be counterproductive (Hall et al., 2001). In contrast, comprehensive

sex education programs are an effective method of encouraging the practice of safe sex.

Although sex is not the most important component of intimate relationships, it is a crucial

factor in determining relationship satisfaction, and a highly relevant topic with regard to human

social relations and intimate relationships. Sex may be associated with increased relationship

satisfaction for a variety of reasons some obvious, and some less so. Having sex with a partner

is pleasurable, it helps you get to know more about each other, it helps relieve stress, and it

simply brings partners closer together. But physiological processes may also help explain the

link between sex and relationship satisfaction. For instance, a hormone called oxytocin -- which

promotes intimacy and social bonding in humans -- is naturally released during intercourse, as

well as when women are giving birth. Essentially, this implies that our bodies subtly encourage

pro-social behavior and behaviors that facilitate reproduction or child-rearing (Olff et al., 2013).

Following this line of thinking, researchers found that relationship satisfaction is highest when

couples have sex at least once a week. Couples that have sex more than once a week (e.g., three

times per week), are not necessarily more satisfied with their relationship than a couple that has

sex once per week. But having sex at least once a week (if not more) seems to contribute to

relationship satisfaction in a meaningful way (Muise et al., 2015). Thus, sex is an important

factor to consider when focusing on intimate relationships.

Many parents oppose school sex education for children. For instance, abstinence is

promoted by many people based on religious doctrine, which is why some remain very firm in

their stance on the subject. Some other common reasons people oppose school sex education are

that: they think it is inappropriate to teach to children, that parents should be responsible for

teaching their own children, and posit that there is no reason for children to know about sex.

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These commonly held beliefs are incorrect and problematic for many reasons. Firstly, the belief

that sex education should be the parents responsibility is not necessarily an inherently bad idea,

because parents know their own children much better than any teachers do. But in reality, parents

are unlikely to be professionally trained, they may be cautious of exposing their children to

sensitive topics, and may not even truly be knowledgeable on the topic themselves. If parents are

never properly educated on sex in a comprehensive manner, then they can never really be trusted

to pass on accurate information to their children. Also, sex and relationship education programs

are tailored to be age-appropriate, so as to avoid exposing children to unnecessarily explicit

information, which they are not yet mature enough to handle. But it is necessary to teach young

children some basic but tremendously important information, such as: where babies come

from, what makes boys and girls different from each other, and importantly, children must know

which parts of their body are the private parts. By increasing childrens bodily awareness, they

are more capable of assessing their overall health, and more likely to notice signs of abuse, if

present (BBC News, 2011)

It is important to note that sex education curriculums usually also include discussions on

building healthy relationships. They may also discuss examples of unhealthy relationships, abuse

scenarios, and how each persons own self-esteem has an impact on relationships. The primary

goal of sex and relationship education programs is essentially to help young people develop good

relationships and effective communication skills. As a result, they will have a greater likelihood

of growing into sexually healthy adults (Magoon, 2010).

Sex is an inevitable and important aspect of our lives, which is why comprehensive sex

and STD education should be embraced, and integrated into school health, biology, or

physiology curriculums. Most people agree that sex education should be taught to the youth, but

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there is significant disagreement as to what form of sex education should be utilized. In North

America, there are two major forms of sex education that are relied on; comprehensive sex

education, and abstinence-only sex education. I have reviewed these two forms of sex education,

and attempted to determine which type of education methods are more effective.

Canadas sex education guidelines are based on a primarily sex-positive model; but in the

United States, abstinence-only sexual education has a notable influence on school curriculums.

Darroch et al. (2002) explain that teen pregnancy and STD rates are significantly higher in the

United States than in most other developed countries (e.g., Canada, Great Britain, and France),

and may be a result of widespread abstinence-only education throughout the countrys school

systems. And unlike the other countries previously mentioned, the United States federal

government actually funds abstinence-only sex education programs. This federal funding by the

US government has frequently been called into question as a possible failure to separate between

church and state. Hall et al. (2001) conducted a correlational study to assess the effectiveness of

abstinence-only education in reducing the United States teen pregnancy rate. Their results show

us that abstinence-only education does not reduce and may even increase teen pregnancy

rates. Whereas comprehensive sex education is correlated with decreased teen pregnancy rates

(Hall et al., 2001).

In a well-intentioned, but misguided effort to keep children safe and healthy, abstinence-

only programs may actually have the opposite of the desired effect. I do not think that people

who support abstinence-only education have malicious intentions. Like everyone else, they

simply want young people to be safe, and to understand the risks associated with having sex. Due

to the inaccurate belief that abstinence-only sex education reduces and delays sexual behavior in

young adults, biased information about human sexuality and health is often presented to

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impressionable students as scientific fact. For instance, some abstinence-only education

programs convey the erroneous message that condoms are ineffective against preventing

pregnancy, and the transmission of HIV (Lin & Santelli, 2008). Granted, the only guaranteed

way to prevent pregnancy and STDs is to avoid all sexual activity. But one of the biggest flaws

with this logic, is that graduates of abstinence programs are not any less likely to have sex, but

they are less likely to use contraception. That is, these abstinence-only programs do not actually

seem to make teens delay having sex, and simply discourage them from using condoms and

employing necessary harm-reduction techniques when engaging in sexual activity (Rosenbaum,

2009). Most evidence seems to support the idea that abstinence-only education programs are

ineffective with regard to delaying sexual activity, relative to comprehensive programs (Dailard,

2003).

Since virginity is commonly culturally linked strictly to vaginal sex, young people who

pledge to be abstinent may engage in alternative sexual behaviors (e.g., oral and anal sex), which

still involve the exchange of fluids and facilitate the transmission of STDs. Another striking

research finding is that, in a 2005 study by Brckner and Bearman, the investigators noted that,

of their participants who had pledged to be abstinent until marriage, a whopping 88% of the

pledgers ended up having (vaginal) sex before marriage (Brckner and Bearman, 2005). This

demonstrates the relative ineffectiveness of abstinence-only education.

Sex is an important component of intimate relationships, and therefore must be included

in any discussions regarding romantic and intimate relationships. For various reasons (e.g.,

religious and ideological reasons) many people feel strongly that having sex before marriage is

immoral, and these same people generally disapprove of sex education being taught to children

in schools. On the other hand, many people are able to recognize that premarital sex is essentially

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inevitable, and support school sex education programs that help young adults make informed

decisions about their actions and their bodies. Empirical evidence overwhelmingly suggests that

abstinence-only sex education is ineffective, and perhaps even counterproductive. Whereas

comprehensive sex education is a highly effective strategy of teaching children about sex. Since

most young adults will engage in sexual activity before getting married, it is important that they

are knowledgeable and aware of the risks associated with having sex, so that when they are ready

to, they can utilize all available harm reduction techniques, and enjoy a safe and pleasurable sex

life. Sex education programs are not simply about the act of having sex; they also usually include

discussions on building healthy relationships and promoting bodily awareness.

Although the relative effectiveness of comprehensive sex education is pretty clear, there

may indeed be some limitations and flaws of the literature in this topic area. For instance, it is

difficult to conduct this type of research because many sex education programs actually combine

elements from the two major education techniques. This makes it slightly more difficult to

compare and contrast these two methods, because the potential overlap may alter or impact

obtained results. Another issue at play is that religious doctrine can sometimes interfere with an

individuals decision-making. In this instance, it is clear that some religious people may be so

inclined to think of premarital sex as a sin, that they will strictly promote abstinence-only sex

education, while disregarding the mountain of evidence suggesting that abstinence-only

education is ineffective. Regarding suggestions for further research, I think that researchers

should attempt to construct a sex education program that is both highly effective, and as

inoffensive as possible, so that young people around the world will all be prepared to make good

decisions. Perhaps programs that combine particularly promising elements from various sex

education programs would be more successful than any specific technique on its own. At the

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very least, large-scale and longitudinal studies should be conducted in order to help convince the

United States Federal government to stop funding abstinence-only education programs, because

of the large influence that the United States has on the rest of the world.

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 References

Brckner, Hannah, and Peter Bearman. "After the Promise: The STD Consequences of
Adolescent Virginity Pledges." Journal of Adolescent Health 36.4 (2005): 271-78. Web.

"Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk." Pediatrics 129.3 (2012): n. pag. The American
Academy of Pediatrics. Web.

Dailard, Cynthia. "Understanding 'Abstinence': Implications for Individuals, Programs and

Policies." The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy 6.5 (2003): n. pag. Web.
<http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/06/5/gr060504.html>.

Darroch, Jacqueline E., Susheela Singh, and Jennifer J. Frost. "Differences in Teenage
Pregnancy Rates among Five Developed Countries: The Roles of Sexual Activity and
Contraceptive Use." Family Planning Perspectives 33.6 (2001): 244. Web.

Lin, Alison Jeanne, and John S. Santelli. "The Accuracy of Condom Information in Three
Selected Abstinence-only Education Curricula." Sexuality Research and Social Policy 5.3
(2008): 56-69. Web.

Magoon, Kekla. Sex Education in Schools. Edina, MN: ABDO Pub., 2010. Print.

"Many Parents 'Oppose School Sex Education for Children'" BBC News. N.p., May 2011. Web.

Muise, A., U. Schimmack, and E. A. Impett. "Sexual Frequency Predicts Greater Well-Being,
But More Is Not Always Better." Social Psychological and Personality Science (2015):
n. pag. Web.

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the Moderating Effects of Context and Interindividual Differences."
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Rosenbaum, J. E. "Patient Teenagers? A Comparison of the Sexual Behavior of Virginity

Pledgers and Matched Nonpledgers." Pediatrics 123.1 (2009): n. pag. Web.

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F., and David W. Hall. "Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy
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Stuebe, Alison M., Walter C. Willett, Fei Xue, and Karin B. Michels. "Lactation and Incidence
of Premenopausal Breast Cancer." Arch Intern Med Archives of Internal Medicine 169.15
(2009): 1364. Web.

Walker, Allan. "Breast Milk as the Gold Standard for Protective Nutrients." The Journal of

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 Pediatrics 156.2 (2010): n. pag. Web.

Walker, Claire-Dominique, Sophie Deschamps, Karine Proulx, and Mai Tu. "Mother to Infant or
Infant to Mother? Reciprocal Regulation of Responsiveness to Stress in Rodents and the
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