Research Papers

The following list is provided as a resource to evaluators and providers regarding peer-reviewed research and government reports on abstinence and evaluations of abstinence education programs. Where available, abstracts - and in some cases full-text articles - have been provided for your reference.

Abstinence Education Evaluation Research

Abel, E.M. & Greco, M. (2008). A preliminary evaluation of an abstinence-oriented empowerment program for public school youth. Research on Social Work Practice, 18 (3), 223-230.

Grand Valley State University (2008). Bethany Christian Services Plan “A” (for abstinence) Program: Year Two. Grand Rapids, MI: Grant Jr., G.

Haglund, K. (2008). Reducing sexual risk with practice of periodic secondary abstinence. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 37, 647-656.

Jemmott, J. B., Jemmott, L. S., & Fong, G. T. (1998). Abstinence and safer sex HIV risk-reduction interventions for African American adolescents. Journal of the American Medical Association, 279(19), 1529-1536.

Kirby, D. (2007). Emerging Answers 2007: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Mississippi State University (2008). Choosing the Best – Community-based Abstinence Education:
Mississippi Community Partnership, Inc. Evaluation Report, Year 1 Program Activities. Jackson, MS: Bartkowski, J.P., Xu, X., & Fondren, K.

Performance Evaluation and Improvement (2008). Pinellas Crisis Pregnancy Center, Inc. More2Life! Community Based Abstinence Education Project, Year 2 2007-2008 Evaluation Report. Tallahassee, FL: Barrios, N. B.

SPS Evaluation Services (2008). TEARS, Inc. A-ETHICS Evaluation Report. Fayetteville, GA.

Peer-Reviewed Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Coming soon.

Other Peer-Reviewed Program Evaluations

Anderson, N.L., Koniak-Griffin, D., Keenan, C.K., Uman, G., Duggal, B.R. & Casey, C. (1999). Evaluating the outcomes of parent-child family life education. Scholarly Inquiries for Nursing Practice: An International Journal, 13(3), 211-234.

Arnold, E.M., Smith, T.E., Harrison, D.F. & Springer, D.W. (1999). The effects of an abstinence-based sex education program on middle school students' knowledge and beliefs. Research on Social Work Practice, 9(1), 10-24.

Aten, M.J., Siegel, D.M., Enaharo, M. & Auinger, P. (2002). Keeping middle school students abstinent: Outcomes of a primary prevention intervention. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(1), 70-78.

Barnett, J.E. & Hurst, C.S. (2003). Abstinence education for rural youth: An evaluation of the life's walk program. Journal of School Health, 73(7), 264-268.

Blake, S., Simkin, L. & Ledsky, R. et. al. (2001). Effects of a parent-child intervention on young adolescents' risk for early onset of sexual intercourse. Family Planning Perspectives, 33, 52-61.

Borawski, E.A., Trapl, E.S., Lovegreen, L.D., Colabianchi, N.C. & Block, T. (2005). Effectiveness of abstinence-only intervention in middle school teens. American Journal of Health Behavior, 29(5), 423-434.

Cagampang, H., Barth, R., Korpi, M. & Kirby, D. (1997). Education now, babies later (ENABL): Life history of a campaign to postpone sexual involvement. Family Planning Perspectives, 29(3), 109-114.

Carter-Jessop, L., Franklin, L.N., Heath, J.W., Jimenez-Irizarry, G. & Peace, M.D. (2000). Abstinence education for urban youth. Journal of Community Health, 25(4), 293-304.

Christopher, F.S. & Roosa, M.W. (1990). Evaluation of an abstinence-only adolescent pregnancy prevention program: A replication. Family Relations, 39, 363-367.

Denny, G. & Young, M. (2006). An evaluation of an abstinence-only sex education curriculum: An 18-month follow-up. Journal of School Health, 76(8), 414-422.

Denny, G., Young, M., Rausch, S. & Spear, C. (1999). An evaluation of an abstinence education curriculum series: Sex can wait. American Journal of Health Behavior, 23(2), 134-143.

Denny, G., Young, M., Rausch, S. & Spear, C. (2002). An evaluation of an abstinence education curriculum series: Sex can wait. American Journal of Health Behavior, 26(5), 366-377.

Doniger, A.S., Adams, E., Utter, C.A. & Riley, J.S. (2001). Impact evaluation of the "Not Me, Not Now" abstinence oriented, adolescent pregnancy prevention communications program, Monroe County, New York. Journal of Health Communication, 6(1), 45-60.

Goldfarb, E.S., Donnelly, J. & Duncan, D.F. et. al. (1999). Evaluation of an abstinence-based curriculum for early adolescents: First- year changes in sex attitudes, knowledge and behavior. North American Journal of Psychology, 1, 243-254.

Harrington, N.G., Giles, S.M., Hoyle, R.H., Feeney, G.J. & Yungbluth, S.C. (2001). Evaluation of the all stars character education and problem behavior prevention program: Effects on mediator and outcome variables for middle school students. Health Education and Behavior, 28(5), 533-546.

Howard, M. & McCabe, J.B.(1990). Helping teenagers postpone sexual involvement. Family Planning Perspectives, 21-26.

Jorgensen, S., Potts, V. & Camp, B. (1993). Project taking charge: Six-month follow-up of a pregnancy prevention program for early adolescents. Family Relations, 42, 401-406.

Kirby, D., Korpi, M., Barth, R. & Cagampang, H. (1997). The impact of postponing sexual involvement curriculum among youth in California. Family Planning Perspectives, 29, 100-108.

Lerner R. (2004). Can abstinence work? An analysis of the best friends program. Adolescent & Family Health, 3(4), 185-193.

Lieberman, L.D., Gray, H., Wier, M., Fiorentino, R. & Maloney, P. (2000). Long-term outcomes of an abstinence-based, small-group pregnancy prevention program in New York City schools. Family Planning Perspectives, 32(5), 237-245.

Little, C.B. & Rankin, A. (2001). An evaluation of the postponing sexual involvement curriculum among upstate New York eighth graders. Sociological Forum, 15(4).

Monahan, D.J. (2001). Teen pregnancy prevention outcomes: Implications for social work practice. Families in Society, 82(2), 127-135.

O'Donnell, L., Stueve, A., Agronick, G., Wilson-Simmons, R., Duran, R. & Jeanbaptiste, V. (2005). Saving sex for later: An evaluation of a parent education intervention. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 37(4), 166-173.

Olsen, J., Weed, S., Nielsen, A. & Jensen, L. (1992). Student evaluation of sex-education programs advocating abstinence. Adolescence, 27(106), 396-380.

Olsen, J.A., Weed, S.E., Ritz, G.M. & Jensen, L.C. (1991). The effects of 3 abstinence sex-education programs on student attitudes toward sexual activity. Adolescence, 26(103), 631-641.

Resnick, M. et al. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the national longitudinal study on adolescent health. Journal of American Medical Association, 278(10), 823-832.

Sather, L. & Zinn, K. (2002). Effects of abstinence-only education on adolescent attitudes and values concerning premarital sexual intercourse. Family and Community Health, 25(2), 1-15.

Jorgensen, S.R. (1991). Project taking charge: An evaluation of an adolescent pregnancy prevention program. Family Relations, 40, 373-380.

St. Pierre, T.L., Mark, M.M. & Kaltreider, K.L. et. al. (1995). A 27-month evaluation of a sexual activity prevention program in boys and girls clubs across the nation. Family Relations, 44, 69-77.

Thomas, B.H., Mitchell, A. & Devlin, M.C. et. al. (1992). Small group sex education at school: The McMaster teen program. In B.C. Miller (Ed.), Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy: Model Programs and Evaluations (pp. 28-52). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Weed, S.E., Lewis, A.L., Grant, G.E. & Wibberly, K.H. (2008). An abstinence program’s impact on cognitive mediators and sexual initiation. American Journal of Health Behavior, 32(1), 60-73.

Yoo, S., Johnson, C.C. & Rice, J. (2004). A qualitative evaluation of the students of service (SOS) program for sexual abstinence in Louisiana. Journal of School Health, 74(8), 329-334.

Young, M.E., Denny, G., Rausch, S. & Spear, C. (2001). An evaluation of an abstinence education curriculum series. American Journal of Health Behavior, 25(3), 40.

Government-Sponsored Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Coming soon.

Other Government-Sponsored Program Evaluations

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2007). Impacts of Four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs (MPR Reference No. 8549-110). Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2002). The Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V Section 510: Interim Report (MPR Reference No. 8549-110). Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (2005). First-Year Impacts of Four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs (MPR Reference No. 8549-110). Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

Trenholm, C., Devaney, B., Forston, K., Clark, M., Quay, L. & Wheeler, J. (2008). Impacts of abstinence education on teen sexual activity, risk of pregnancy, and risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 27(2), 255-276.

Basic Research on Abstinence

Peer-Reviewed Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Goodson, P.G., Pruitt, B.E., Suther, S., Wilson, K. & Buhi, E. (2006). Is abstinence education theory based The underlying logic of abstinence education programs in Texas. Health Education and Behavior, 33(2), 252-271.

Other Peer-Reviewed Basic Research

Bassett, R.L., Mowat, Ferriter, G.T., Perry, M., Hutchinson, E., Campbell J., & Santiago, P. (2002). Why do Christian college students abstain from premarital sexual intercourse Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 21(2), 121-132.

Bazargan, M. & West, K. (2006). Correlates of the intention to remain sexually inactive among underserved Hispanic and African American high school students. Journal of School Health, 76(1), 25-32.

Benda, B.B. & Flynn, R. (1999). Abstinence and birth control among rural adolescents in impoverished families: A test of theoretical discriminators. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 16(3), 191-214.

Bersamin, M.M., Walker, S., Waiters E.D., Fisher D.A., & Grube, J.W. (2005). Promising to wait: Virginity pledges and adolescent sexual behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 428-436.

Blinn-Pike, L. (1999). Why abstinent adolescents report that they have not had sex: Understanding sexually resilient youth. Family Relations, 48(3), 295-301.

Blinn-Pike, L., Berger T.J., Hewett, J. & Oleson, J. (2004). Sexually abstinence adolescents: An 18-month follow-up. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(5), 495-510.

Carvajal, S.C., Parcel, G.S., Basen-Engquist K., Banspach, S.W., Coyle, K.K., Kirby D., & Chan, W. (1999). Psychosocial predictors of delay of first sexual intercourse by adolescents. Health Psychology, 18(5),44-452.

Cox, M.F. (2007). Maternal demandingness and responsiveness as predictors of adolescent abstinence. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 22(3), 197-205.

Feldman, L., Holowaty, P., Harvey, B., Rannie, K., Shortt, L., & Jamal, A. (1997). A comparison of the demographic, lifestyle, and sexual behaviour characteristics of virgin and non-virgin adolescents. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 6(3), 197-209.

Haglund, K. (2006). Understanding sexual abstinence in African American teens. The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 31(2), 86-92.

Halpern, C.T., Joyner, K., Udry, J.R., & Suchindran, C. (2000). Smart teens don’t have sex (or kiss much either). Journal of Adolescent Health, 26, 213-225.

Lammers, C., Ireland, M., Resnick, M., & Blum, R. (2000). Influences on adolescents’ decision to postpone onset of sexual intercourse: A survival analysis of virginity among youths aged 13 to 18 years. Journal of Adolescent Health, 26, 42-48.

Loewenson, P.R., Ireland, M., & Resnick, M.D. (2004). Primary and secondary sexual abstinence in high school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 34, 209-215.

Maguen, S. & Armistead, L. (2006). Abstinence among female adolescents: Do parents matter above and beyond the influence of peers American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(2), 260-264.

Martyn, K.K. & Hutchinson, S.A. (2001). Low-income African American adolescents who avoid pregnancy: Tough girls who rewrite negative scripts. Qualitative Health Research, 11(2), 238-256.

Michels, T.M., Kropp, R.Y., Eyre, S.L. & Halpern-Felsher, B.L. (2005). Initiating sexual experiences: How do young adolescents make decisions regarding early sexual activity Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(4), 583-607.

Nagy, S., Watts, G.F.D., & Nagy, M.C. (2002). Coital status and perceptions about sexual abstinence refusal skills. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 79-83.

Oman, R.F, Vesely, S.K., Aspy, C.B., Tolma E., Rodine S., Marshall L., & Fluhr, J. (2006). Youth assets and sexual abstinence in Native American youth. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 17, 775-788.

Ott, M.A., Pfeiffer, E.J., & Fortenberry, J.D. (2006). Perceptions of sexual abstinence among high-risk early and middle adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, 192-198.

Paradise, J.E., Cote J., Minksy S., Lourenco, A., & Howland, J. (2001). Personal values and sexual decision-making among virginal and sexually experienced urban adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 28, 404-409.

Paul, C., Fitzjohn, J., Eberhart-Phillips, J., Herbison, P., & Dickson, N. (2000). Sexual abstinence at age 21 in New Zealand: The importance of religion. Social Science & Medicine, 51, 1-10.

Rasberry, C.N. & Goodson, P. (2007). Predictors of secondary abstinence in U.S. college undergraduates. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Rock, E.M., Ireland, M., & Resnick, M.D. (2003). To know that we know what we know: Perceived knowledge and adolescent sexual risk behavior. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 16, 369-376.

Schuster, M.A., Bell, R.M., & Kanouse, D.E. (1996). The sexual practices of adolescent virgins: Genital sexual activities of high school students who have never had sexual intercourse. American Journal of Public Health, 86(11), 1570-1576.

Siebenbruner, J., Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J., & Egeland, B. (2007). Sexual partners and contraceptive use: A 16-year prospective study predicting abstinence and risk behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17(1), 179-206.

Silver, E.J. & Bauman, L.J. (2006). The association of sexual experience with attitudes, beliefs and risk behaviors of inner-city adolescents. Journal on Research on Adolescence, 16(1), 29-45.

Smith, T.E., Steen, J.A., Spaulding–Givens, J. & Schwendinger, A. (2003). Measurement in abstinence education - Critique and recommendations. Evaluation and the Health Professions, 26(2), 180-205.

Sonfield, A. & Benson-Gold, R. (2001). States' Implementation of the Section 510 Abstinence Education Program, FY 1999. Family Planning Perspectives, 33(4), 166-171.

Voermans, P. & Keller, M.L. (1995). Incarcerated adolescents’ ideas about the reasons for risky and non-risky sexual behavior. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 2(2), 113-135.

Government-Sponsored Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Scher, L. S., Maynard, R.A. & Stagner, M. (2005). Campbell Collaboration Protocol Version 6: Interventions intended to reduce pregnancy-related outcomes among adolescents. Washington, DC: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Institutes for Research.

Wilcox, W.B. (2008). A Scientific Review of Abstinence and Abstinence Programs. Arlington, VA: Pal-Tech, Inc.

Other Government-Sponsored Research

McGroder, S., Tracy, A. Rue, L. (2010). Profiles of Romantic and Sexual Relationships in Emerging Adulthood: A National Study. Prepared for the Family and Youth Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Bureau by The Lewin Group.