The predominately rural state of Mississippi responded to high teenage pregnancy rates by enacting a 2011 law requiring school districts to choose between an abstinence-only and an abstinence-plus program for their high schools. However, there is limited extant research on Mississippi's sex education policies, creating a research gap that inhibits developing successful programs to reduce teenage pregnancy rates. There is specifically a need to compare the two types of allowed programs with a focus on rural areas. This study compared programs by examining students' abstinent sexual attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy, sexual abstinence behaviors, and perceived effectiveness of sexual education and decision making to address whether those variables differed by program and if programs and genders interacted. The study was informed by the health belief model, social cognitive theory, and the theory of reasoned action. The study collected data from 366 students who had taken one of the two programs completed 4 surveys: a demographic survey, the Sexual Risk Behavioral Belief and Self-Efficacy scale, the Sexual Abstinence scale, and the Effectiveness of Sexual Education scale. Students who completed the abstinence-plus program had higher levels of abstinent sexual attitudes, abstinent social norms, abstinent self-efficacy, and sexual decision-making self-efficacy when compared to students who completed the abstinence-only program, with a small effect size for abstinent social norms. Sexual abstinence behavior scores did not differ by program and programs and genders did not interact. Future studies should include a pretest and posttest evaluation. Analyzing these programs facilitates social change by informing the design of effective programs that focus on at-risk youth sexual behaviors.

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This research contributes to understanding the attitudes of Russian politicians towards sex education in schools and the kind of argumentation styles they use to oppose it. The paper is based on a framing analysis of the arguments of two important opponents to sex education: Pavel Astakhov, a Russian politician and former Children’s Rights Commissioner from 2009 to 2016; and Yelena Mizulina, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Affairs, Women and Children since 2008, using online media sources in a ten-year period (2011-2021). The analysis finds that Astakhov’s most used frames are the disapproval of children’s exposure to new, different attitudes, the interference in Russian traditions by the West and the spread of a gender discourse in Russia. Mizulina focuses mainly on the unfitness of teachers since sex education should only be addressed by parents, and on the “right age” to start talking about it with young people. From the results, both politicians seem to strongly oppose comprehensive sex education (CSE), but Astakhov proposes to adopt a type of abstinence-only curriculum (AO), while Mizulina tries to completely discourage sex education of any kind for school-aged children.

The purpose of this review of review was to determine if inclusive and comprehensive formal sexual education is effective in promoting safer sex behaviors compared to abstinence only until marriage sexual education, for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) adolescents. Peer reviewed articles were retrieved from Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), Elton B. Stephens Co. Host (Ebsco Host), Medical Literature On-line (Medline), Psychological Information Database (PsychINFO) and government released statistical information that was published from 2000-2017. Inclusion criteria of synthesized articles were based on formal sexual education aimed at adolescent populations, including focus on LGBTQ subgroups. The literature reviewed demonstrated abstinence only until marriage formal sexual education has minimal to no effects on LGBTQ adolescent’s sexual behaviors. Whereas, comprehensive and inclusive formal sexual education has been shown to increase condom use, delay first sexual interaction, and decrease number of sexual partners and teen pregnancy. In conclusion, the research indicates that individuals who have received comprehensive or inclusive formal sexual education have a greater chance of demonstrating safe sex behaviors compared to those who received abstinence only until marriage sexual education.