Abstinence education is one of the main mantras of the Bush administration. Conservatives are a strong advocate of these programs as they believe teaching youth about contraception and sex education would only encourage them to experiment more.

With the Congress under the control of the Republicans, spending on abstinence education programs spiraled from $10 million to a whooping $176 million. Basically these education programs advocate no-sex-before-marriage as a way to stay healthy and avoid diseases like HIV/AIDS.

Critics have long voiced their skepticism on the feasibility of these education programs. A study by the Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. seems to vindicate their concern. The study reviewed four abstinence education programs only to find that students participating in the abstinence programs were no more likely to use a condom when compared to those who did not attend the education programs.

The study 2,057 youths from across the United States and included cities like Milwaukee and Miami as well as rural communities in Virginia and Mississippi. The students who participated in the programs were 11 to 12 years in 1999. The education programs lasted for one to three years.

A follow-up survey was conducted in late 2005 and early 2006. Mathematica said the average age of the participants was 16.5 years at follow-up. Around 50 percent of students enrolled in abstinence education programs and in the control group remained abstinent during the follow-up, researchers reported.

Those who did attend the abstinence education programs had sex at an average age of 14 years and nine months - the same age as those who did not attend the programs. Furthermore they had a similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not participate in the programs.

Christopher Trenholm, who supervised the project at Mathematica Policy Research Inc., said the results were surprising because initially sexual attitudes appeared to be shifting toward abstinence among the students. However as they got older these attitudes seemed to disappear, he said.

“The study finds that the sexual abstinence of students in four programs selected for the study was much the same as that of students who did not participate in these programs," he added. "We find no evidence that the programs increased the rate of unprotected sex."

However Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, disagreed with this statement. She said the study was conducted when the program was still in its early days, and hence the results were inconclusive.

The study is released at a time when experts are beginning to question the efficacy of abstinence education programs. Additionally The Washington Post reports that "eight states that used to receive funding for abstinence programs have decided to stop doing so."

Sarah Brown, executive director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy said the abstinence education programs had failed comprehensively, "This is the first study with a solid, experimental design, the first with adequate numbers and long-term follow-up, the first to measure behavior and not just intent. On every measure, the effectiveness of the programs was flat," she added.

The message from the study appears to say that the need of the hour is comprehensive sex education programs that not only talk about abstinence, but also educate youth on birth control and contraception.