abstinence and other social barometers

More on the benefits of abstinence (or the consequences of non-abstinence)...

From Touchstone, an editor relays the results of a study by Ellen Silver and Laurie Bauman-- pediatricians at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine-- on inner-city virgins, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence.

The abstract of their paper:

We compared knowledge, attitudes, and demographic characteristics of 630 sexually experienced and 422 inexperienced inner-city adolescents aged 14–17 years. Sexual experience was associated with indicators of risk previously reported in the literature: male gender, older age, single-family home, smoking, drinking, and poorer academic performance. We found lower HIV knowledge in sexually inexperienced youth, which suggested an area of vulnerability compared with sexually active teens. However, most inexperienced adolescents intended to remain virgins for the next 6 months, most had peer groups they also perceived to be virgins, and they were more positive and confident about remaining abstinent. Differences between the groups suggest there may be benefits to developing intervention programs targeted to their different strengths and weaknesses.

Of course, the connection of sexual experience to a variety of social risks is sobering but not surprising.