>>Read more about Teen Abstinence>>

Teen Abstinence

Teen abstinence was found to be a strong and significant predictor of academic success independent of other social variables. Specifically, even after controlling for social background variables, teen abstinence successfully predicted better outcomes on each of the four dependent variables. Teen abstinence was associated with:

• A 40 percent lower rate of school expulsion;

• A 50 percent lower rate of dropping out of high school;

• A 70 percent increase in the probability a youth was currently attending or had graduated from college; and,

• A 66 percent increase in college graduation.

The linkage between academic achievement and teen abstinence has two primary explanations. First, teens who abstain will be subject to less emotional turmoil and fewer psychological distractions; this will enable them to better focus on schoolwork.

Second, abstinence and academic achievement are promoted by common underlying character traits. Teens who abstain are likely to have greater future orientation, greater impulse control, greater perseverance, greater resistance to peer pressure, and more respect for parental and societal values. These traits are likely to contribute to higher academic achievement.

In our society, greater educational attainment leads, on average, to higher lifetime incomes. Because they are more successful in school, teen virgins can expect to have, on average, incomes that will be 16 percent higher than sexually active teens from identical socio-economic backgrounds. This will mean an average increase of $370,000 in income over a lifetime.

Source: Teenage Sexual Abstinence and Academic Achievement, Robert Rector and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D., 2005.

>>Read more about Teen Abstinence>>