These qualities will help you build happy and healthy relationships, but they will also help you in other areas of your life. They will help you reach your life goals and fulfill your dreams.
So yes, abstinence will help you to avoid the consequences that may put your dreams at risk, but it will also help you reach the future you desire.
Sex affects all areas of our lives. The me d ia and current culture tell us that sex is just about our bodies and it's no big deal. Truth is that because of the intense emotional connection sex causes and the physical consequences of sex outside of marriage, sex affects us in everything. We teach that there are five main areas of consequence when we have sex outside of marriage.
Emotional
Mental
Physical
- STDs10
- Unplanned Pregnancy11
- Cancer12
- Infertility13
Financial
- Less likely to complete high school or college14
Social
- Conflict with parents and siblings15
- Drawn into other high risk behaviors (drugs, alcohol, cutting)16 17
If you are sexually active outside of marriage, not all of these things will happen to you, but some of them might. Is sex outside of marriage worth the risk?
1 Bingham, C. Raymond and Lisa J. Crockett. 1996. "Longitudinal Adjustment Patterns of Boys and Girls Experiencing Early, Middle, and Late Sexual Intercourse." Developmental Psychology 32: 647-658.
2 Dush, Claire M. Kamp. et al. 2003. "The Relationship Between Cohabitation and Marital Quality and Stability: Change Across Cohorts?" Journal of Marriage and Family 65: 539-549.
3 Stanley, Scott. et al. 2006. "Sliding Versus Deciding: Inertia and the Premarital Cohabitation Effect." Family Relations 55: 499-509.
4 Finger, Reginald. et al. 2004. "Association of Virginity at Age 18 with Educational, Economics, Social, and Health Outcomes in Middle Adulthood." Adolescent and Family Health 4: 164-170
5 Blanchflower, David G. and Andrew J. Oswald. 2004. "Money, Sex and Happiness: An Empirical Study." Scandinavian Journal of Economics 106: 393-415.
6 Laumann, Edward O. et al. 1994. The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
7 Hallfors, Denise D., et al. "Which Comes First in Adolescents - Sex and Drugs or Depression?" American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 29, 3 (2005): 163-170
8 Albert, Bill. America's Adults and Teens Sound Off About Teen Pregnancy: An Annual Survey. Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2007
9 Joyner, Kara and J. Richard Udry. 2000. "You Don't Bring Me Anything but Down: Adolescent Romance and Depression." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41: 369-391.
10 Cates J.R., Herndon N.L., Schulz S.L., Darroch J.E. (2004). Our voices, our lives, our futures: Youth and sexually transmitted diseases. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication
11 Hamilton, B.E. et al. 2006. Births: Preliminary data for 2005. Health E-Stats. Hyattsville, MD: National Center forHealth Statistics. Released November 21, 2006.
12 Cates, Willard 2004. "Reproductive Tract Infections." In Contraceptive Technology, eds. Robert A. Hatcher et al. New York: Ardent Media.
13 Cates, Willard 2004. "Reproductive Tract Infections." In Contraceptive Technology, eds. Robert A. Hatcher et al. New York: Ardent Media.
14 Finger, Reginald. et al. 2004. "Association of Virginity at Age 18 with Educational, Economics, Social, and Health Outcomes in Middle Adulthood." Adolescent and Family Health 4: 164-170.
15 Bingham, C. Raymond and Lisa J. Crockett. 1996. "Longitudinal Adjustment Patterns of Boys and Girls Experiencing Early, Middle, and Late Sexual Intercourse."Developmental Psychology 32: 647-658.
16 Silver, Ellen Johnson and Laurie J. Bauman. 2006. "The Association of Sexual Experience with Attitudes, Beliefs, and Risk Behaviors of Inner-City Adolescents." Journal of Research on Adolescents 16: 29-45.
17 Sabia, Joseph J. 2007. "Early Adolescent Sex and Diminished School Attachment: Selection or Spillovers." Southern Economic Journal. Forthcoming.
