Sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexuality - Essay Example This does not mean that the Americans agree on which kind of sex education would be the best. Fifteen percent of the Americans believe that schools should only teach abstinence but not the use of condoms and other contraception. Forty-six percent believe that a better approach would be â€Å"abstinence-plus†. On the other hand, thirty-six percent believe abstinence is not the most important factor and sex education should focus on how to teach adolescents how to make responsible decisions concerning sex (Sex Education in America, 2004). Evangelical or born-again Christians differ in opinions in reference to this topic. Twelve percent said sex education should not be taught in schools while four percent were non-evangelicals. Forty nine percent of evangelicals and twenty-one percent non-evangelical think that government should fund abstinence-only programs instead of funding more comprehensive sex education (Sex Education in America, 2004). Bleakly, Hennessy &Fishbein (2006) examined the USA public ´s opinion on sex education in schools to find out their preferences aligned with those of policymakers and research scientists. They used a cross-sectional survey from July 2005 through January 2006. The researchers randomly selected a nationally representative sample of 1096 USA adults from 18 to 83 years. They used 3 different types of sex education in schools: Abstinence only, comprehensive sex education, and condom instruction. According to their findings, approximately eighty-two percent of the respondents support the programs that teach students abstinence and other methods to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) while 68.5% supported how to properly use condoms. The lowest percentage was obtained for the abstinence-only sex education with 36% supporting it and the highest level of opposition (approximately 50% across the 3 program options. Self-identified conservative, liberal, and moderate respondents supported the