Study: Abstinence pledgers may risk STDs

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Teens who pledge to remain virgins until
marriage are more likely to take chances with other kinds of sex that
increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, a study of 12,000
adolescents suggests.

The report by Yale and Columbia University researchers could help
explain their earlier findings that teens who pledged abstinence are
just as likely to have STDs as their peers.

The latest study, published in the April issue of the Journal of
Adolescent Health, found that teens pledging virginity until marriage
are more likely to have oral and anal sex than other teens who have not
had intercourse. That behavior, however, "puts you at risk," said
Hannah Brueckner, assistant professor of sociology at Yale and one of
the study's authors.

Among virgins, boys who have pledged abstinence were four times more
likely to have had anal sex, according to the study.... The pledging
group was also less likely to use condoms during their first sexual
experience or get tested for STDs, the researchers found.

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