Abstinent Teens' Reasons for Not Having Sex.

• Position: Brief Article

Abstinent adolescents base their decision not to have sex on three factors: the fear of possible consequences, emotional confusion, and conservative or religious values, according to Lynn Blinn-Pike, director of the University of Missouri-Columbia Center on Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Parenting. "In the battle over the most appropriate approaches to reduce adolescent high-risk sexual behaviors in the United States, more emphasis has been placed on understanding adolescents who report they have had sex than on understanding adolescents who report they have remained abstinent."

She surveyed 697 Missouri teenagers in grades eight through 10 to determine their reasons for not having sex. The 697 students were part of a larger sample of 1,112 subjects and represent the 65% who indicated that they had not had sex, which was defined as having had intercourse.

"Fears of pregnancy and AIDS were the most...