FYI:  Last year, 77% of the students
in grades 6 - 9 who received the
Right Choices of West Tennessee program
pledged abstinence!

OUR STATISTICS SPEAK FOR US after YEAR 3

The Right Choices program combines formal abstinence education for teens with initiatives such as drama troupes, peer mentoring, and adult mentoring to ensure the abstinence message is effectively delivered and continually reinforced. Additionally, Right Choices reaches out to parents and other individuals who have a direct influence on the attitudes and behaviors of teens through community awareness campaigns, parent communication training, and collaboration with anti-drug programs. We maximize penetration throughout our four county area using community-based, high-visibility special events.

Right Choices provides formal education to students in grades 6-9 based on the Why kNOw public school curriculum. During these formal education sessions, Right Choices identifies students with a demonstrated commitment to remaining abstinent to serve as peer leaders in subsequent years. All identified students are mentored and trained to provide leadership in their respective schools regarding healthy behaviors and making positive choices.

Students in grades 10-12 are provided formal education regarding healthy relationships and marriage via the Soul Mate curriculum, published by Choosing the Best. Lessons include topics such as Finding the Right One, Being the Right One, Developing Relational Skills, Dating to Discover, and Making Marriage Work.

Right Choices sponsors drama improv that enlists adolescents to develop skits in the classroom whereby they learn and practice refusal skills. Students actively participate in the formation and delivery of the abstinence message during these fun and informative sketches.

Right Choices educates the community regarding the dangers of sexual activity outside of marriage and expected standards of conduct through an awareness campaign that features public service announcements, print and billboard advertising, and community-based events. We work with the school and court systems, Coordinated School Health Programs, and faith-based organizations to deliver formal education to parents that empowers them to effectively communicate the abstinence message to their teens. Our parent trainings are based on The Big Talk Book authored by Bruce Cook.

Study Proves Virginity Pledges Work


WASHINGTON -- A recent study by the Heritage Foundation of Washington, DC proves that teens who pledge to abstain from sexual activity until marriage have "better life outcomes and are far less likely to engage in risky behaviors than non-pledgers." (Heritage Web Memo, 09/21/04)

The study, based on recently released data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, revealed the following:

Teens who make a virginity pledge:
 

• Are less likely to experience a teen pregnancy
   

• Are less likely to be sexually active while in high school and as young adults
   

• Are less likely to give birth as teens or young adults
   

• Are less likely to give birth out of wedlock
   

• Will have fewer sexual partners
  
  "This study shows that abstinence education works. Teaching kids the dangers of sex outside of marriage and empowering teens to make healthy choices offers our children the best chance of a happy and healthy future," said Leslee J. Unruh, president of the Abstinence Clearinghouse. "Virginity pledges can be an effective tool in motivating teens toward truly responsible behavior."
  
  The Heritage study entitled "Teens Who Make Virginity Pledges Have Substantially Improved Life Outcomes" by Robert Rector, Kirk A. Johnson, and Jennifer A. Marshall is available for viewing at www.heritage.org

Ever Wondered What Happens to Teen Parents?

Teen parents are more likely to¹

• drop out of school
• divorce
• continue to have out-of-wedlock babies
• change jobs more frequently
• be on welfare
• have mental and physical health problems

Becoming a parent before age 18 significantly reduces the likelihood of graduation from high school for both boys and girls. Teen parents who obtain a GED have even lower lifetime earnings than those who graduate from high school. Teen parents who graduate from high school or earn a GED are less likely than their peers to go to college.²

Young women who marry after becoming teen mothers are more likely to divorce and spend more years as single mothers than women who wait until marriage to become mothers. Teen mothers have more problems with pregnancy and delivery than older women and their babies are less healthy. Pregnant teens, especially unmarried teens, are less likely to receive adequate prenatal care.¹

Emotional and intellectual development during the teen years, when adolescents should be developing a sense of identity and independence from their parents while growing and developing as individuals through normal teen activities such as peer relationships, dating, school, and career choices, is significantly disrupted by the demands and responsibilities of teen parenthood.¹

Teens who follow the “ideal” pathway from adolescence to adulthood to parenthood have the best chance of a happy life. The first steps for teens to take in the transition from adolescence to adulthood are completing their education before leaving the family home, developing a career, and finding a permanent job. After achieving emotional and financial independence, a young adult finds a suitable partner, marries, and establishes an emotionally stable relationship and a financially stable household. The birth of the first child and the transition to parenthood is the final step in the transition to adulthood. Yet only a small number of teen parents complete their education before the birth of their first child, and may not ever achieve any of the other steps, such as finding a suitable partner, a permanent job, or establishing a financially stable household.

References:
1.1. Coley R, Chase-Lansdale P. Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood: Recent Evidence and Future Directions. American Psychologist. 1998; 53:152-166.
2.2. Alan Guttmacher Institute. Teen Sex and Pregnancy; facts in brief. 1999.
Available at: http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_teen_sex.html. Accessed April 24, 2004.