Study shows sexual education reduces some risky behaviors

Educational programs that teach young women how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) may alter some trends in risky sexual behaviors, according to a recent article published by the Health Behavior News Service.

The news provider explained that researchers from the University of Southampton assessed results from 23 different studies in which women under the age of 25 were given information about STD risks and how to use condoms.

"Condom use was the most widely reported behavioral outcome measure and many studies reported significant effects for the intervention," lead researcher Jonathan Shepherd told the news source.

The news service reported that in nine out of 12 programs, females who received sexual education reported fewer instances of unprotected sex than those who did not participate in the intervention. Also, women in four out of 12 studies who learned about STD risks indicated that they had fewer sexual partners in the months following the study period than they had had in the same amount of time prior to the experiment.

There are more than 19 million new reports of STDs each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.