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Strategies

Reduce Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

Effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention Interventions

Persuasive evidence shows that a number of programs with different approaches can delay sexual activity, improve contraceptive use among sexually active teens, and/or prevent teen pregnancy. Because of the significant variety among these interventions, communities have leeway to find programs that suit local values, opportunities, and budgets. [1] Proven programs include:

Abstinence and Contraception: Complimentary Strategies. There is strong evidence that programs that encourage abstinence as the safest choice for teens and also encourage those who do have sex to use contraception are effective. Thus, abstinence and contraception are complimentary, not competing, aspects of effective programs. [2]

[1] Suellentrop, K (2010). What Works 2010: Curriculum-Based Programs That Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy: Washington, DC.
[2]Suellentrop, K (2010). What Works 2010: Curriculum-Based Programs That Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy: Washington, D.C.
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Abstinence and Very Young Teens: While the weight of evidence favors programs that incorporate both abstinence and contraception, new evidence shows that a specific abstinence-only intervention program helped very young urban teens (12 years old, on average) delay sex and reduce their recent sexual activity as well. Importantly, among those who did have sex, this particular program did not reduce condom use. The program contained only medically accurate information, did not advocate abstinence until marriage, and did not portray sex in a negative light. While this evidence adds another effective program to the list, researchers caution that, as is true of any program evaluation, these findings are valid only for the specific population served.