The most effective programs in the U.S. combine
medically accurate information on a variety of
sexuality-related issues, including abstinence,
contraception, safer sex, and the risks of
unprotected intercourse and how to avoid them, as
well as the development of communication,
negotiation, and refusal skills. Teens who have sex
education are half as likely to experience a
pregnancy as those who attend abstinence-only
programs (Kohler, et al, 2008). A 2007 review of
sex education curricula found that the most effective
comprehensive programs lowered risky sexual
behavior by about one-third (Kirby, 2007).