Abstract

Substantial evidence supports comprehensive sex education programs as effective means of promoting adolescent sexual health, but evidence on the effect of state-level sex education policy is inconclusive. Multiple states in the U.S. afford local authority in school policy, and existing literature calls for investigation of the impact of local interpretation and implementation of sex education policy. This study is the first to assess the association between stated county policy and select adolescent sexual health outcomes. In this single state multivariate analysis, stated county policy was not significantly associated with adolescent birth or sexually transmitted infections. The incongruity of evidence between the impacts of sex education programs and policies on teen birth and STIs in Florida suggests that implementation of policy and delivery of sex education at the district or school level may not align with stated county policy and may be a critical mediating factor, confirming an area of essential future research in sex education.

摘要

大量证据支持综合性教育计划是促进青少年性健康的有效手段，但关于州级性教育政策效果的证据尚无定论。美国多个州在学校政策方面赋予地方权威，现有文献呼吁调查当地解释和实施性教育政策的影响。这项研究是第一个评估既定县政策与选定青少年性健康结果之间的关联的研究。在这个单一州的多变量分析中，规定的县政策与青少年生育或性传播感染没有显着相关性。