Shocker II

Dem Bones reader, Chad, asked that I update my previous and much commented post, Shocker. In that post, I wrote on a study by Janet Rosenbaum of Johns Hopkins who analyzed the efficacy of virginity pledges on teenagers. She showed that teenagers who took virginity pledges were just as likely to have premarital sex - and riskier sex at that - than students who did not take the pledge.

Rosenbaum also studied the ages in which religious and non-religious students became sexually active. According to her study, religious students were likely to become sexually active on average three years later than non-religious students, and religious students became sexually active around the age of 21. Saith Rosenbaum:

"It is something that I think can be looked on as encouraging," she said. "Kids who are choosing to be religious are also choosing to abstain."

Well, they aren't exactly choosing to abstain, but they are waiting longer.