Title: The Challenges of Sex Education in the United States
The issue of sex education in the United States has always been a divisive one. Weisman (2015) states that American adolescents consistently underperform their peers in developed nations regarding sexual health standards, with higher rates of abortion and pregnancy compared to European countries. In addition, American teenagers engage in sexual activity at an earlier age and are less likely to use effective contraception or none at all, unlike their counterparts abroad. Although many parents and guardians support sexuality education in schools, opposition from religious groups has resulted in government bans on these programs.
According to Weisman (2015), the absence of federal laws requiring sex education in schools is why it can be successful.
A study found that Dutch and American teenagers become sexually active at the same age, but American girls have higher rates of abortions and births
...compared to their Dutch counterparts (Weisman, 2015).
In Finland, sex education has achieved success for both boys and girls in schools thanks to government support (Kontula, 2010). However, despite an increasing demand for it, the lack of government support hinders the implementation of sex education in schools (Strasburger & Brown, 2014).
- The citation for the article "Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S." by Stanger-Hall, K. and Hall, D. is presented within an unordered list with a single list item.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024658
The United States has the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy among industrialized nations, so for over a decade, the U.S. government has provided funding for abstinence-only sex education programs to try and reduce these rates. However, it
is necessary to offer comprehensive sex education in order to effectively address these issues.
According to Picavet (2013), there is a need to reconsider the approach towards sexuality education in the United States and consider it from a different perspective in order to enhance its effectiveness in achieving its goals.
The Evolving Perceptions of Contraception Use in Different Genders
Emotions, thoughts, and desires play a role in shaping attitudes towards contraception use. However, there has been insufficient research on gender-specific attitudes towards contraceptives. Presently, condom usage is associated with gender differences, as men tend to take a more proactive approach in this regard. Nonetheless, there is room for improvement in the development of condoms specifically designed for women.
According to Thorburn(2007), women have shown more positive attitudes towards contraception compared to men, while men have encountered fewer challenges when purchasing and carrying condoms. Potsonen (2009) conducted a study on the attitudes of 15-year-old adolescents, which revealed that boys commonly reported finding condoms easy to use but believed they reduced sexual pleasure. Among African American individuals, male condoms received the highest ratings across various dimensions; however, African American men had less favorable views towards contraception compared to African American women. Lance (2004) examined college students' perspectives on contraceptives and found that both males and females claimed to possess knowledge about contraceptives and sexual intercourse; nevertheless, it is possible that many young people do not utilize this information. There remains a significant number of young individuals who strongly deny the importance of contraception. A study by Nanda,
Schuler, and Lenzi (2013) demonstrated that gender attitudes play a critical role in contraceptive usage in Tanzania based on survey responses from both husbands and wives.
Sci., 45(03), 331-344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021932012000855
According to this source, there is a hypothesis that gender attitude scales are connected to contraceptive use. In general, it was observed in this study that most wives had less equitable gender attitudes compared to their husbands, and for three out of the four scales analyzed, these differences were statistically significant.
- Mishra, A., Nanda, P., Speizer, I., Calhoun, L., Zimmerman, A., ; Bhardwaj, R. (2014). Men’s attitudes on gender equality and their contraceptive use in Uttar Pradesh India. Reproductive Health, 11(1), 41. https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-4755-11-41
The study concludes that contraceptive programs should involve men and address attitudes towards gender equality.
