Parent Opinion of Sexuality Education in a State with Mandated Abstinence Education: Does Policy Match Parental Preference?
Received 18 January 2006; accepted 28 April 2006. published online 30 June 2006.
Abstract
Purpose
Despite public debate about the content of sexuality education in schools, state and federal policy has increasingly financed and legislated abstinence-only education over the past decade. Although public schools strive to meet the needs of parents who, as taxpayers, fund the educational system, little is known about parental desires regarding sexuality education in states with mandated abstinence education. The objective of this study was to assess parental opinion about sexuality education in public schools in North Carolina, a state with mandated abstinence education.
Methods
Computer-assisted, anonymous, cross-sectional telephone surveys were conducted among 1306 parents of North Carolina public school students in grades K–12. Parental support for sexuality education in public schools and 20 sexuality education topics was measured. We defined comprehensive sexuality education as education that includes a discussion of how to use and talk about contraception with partners.
Results
Parents in North Carolina overwhelmingly support sexuality education in public schools (91%). Of these respondents, the majority (89%) support comprehensive sexuality education. Less than a quarter of parents oppose teaching any specific topic, including those typically viewed as more controversial, such as discussions about sexual orientation, oral sex, and anal sex. Parents’ level of education was inversely related to support for specific sexuality education topics and comprehensive education, although these differences were small in magnitude. More than 90% of respondents felt that parents and public health professionals should determine sexuality education content and opposed the involvement of politicians.
Conclusions
Current state-mandated abstinence sexuality education does not match parental preference for comprehensive sexuality education in North Carolina public schools.
aNRSA Primary Care Research Fellowship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
bDivision of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
cNorth Carolina Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina
dCenter for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
eHIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Branch, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina
fDivision of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
gDepartment of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Address correspondence to: Dr. Kristin E. Ito, 725 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7590, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.
ABSTRACT