Many parents often fear that their adolescent children will engage in unhealthy or dangerous behaviors, including reckless driving, alcohol use, drug use, and unsafe sex. For many parents, the only obvious solution is to try to hide the reality of sex from their children, in the hope that the less they know about it, the less tempted they will be to do it. Other parents make apocalyptic statements about what would happen if their children participated in premarital sexual behavior, hoping to scare their teens into abstinence. Overall, however, numerous investigations and studies have shown that abstinence-only sex education is ineffective, misleading, and perhaps even riskier than a full sex education course would be (Alford par. 2). This form of sex education can actually make teens more likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease or become pregnant, and can have harmful psychological effects on teen girls. One of parents' biggest concerns when it comes to premarital sex is sexually transmitted sex. sexually transmitted diseases or diseases. Although these diseases are a serious problem, they can also be prevented through the use of condoms. However, many ultra-conservative abstinence-only programs spread lies and falsehoods implying that condoms work less often than they actually do (Alford par 5). This can lead teens to believe that condoms are unnecessary, and the stigma surrounding them in conservative families can even make it impossible for a teen to get them. But when it was estimated that nearly half of all new sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, occurred in sexually active people under the age of 25 (Alford par 19), it becomes clear that teenagers and young adults really need greater education on what sexually transmitted diseases are. a...... middle of paper...... sex education, where information about condoms, birth control pills and consent is distributed. Works Cited Alford, Sue. “Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs: ineffective, unethical, and poor public health.” Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs: ineffective, unethical, and poor public health. Ed. Marilyn Keefe. Lawyers for Youth, July 2007. Web. November 11, 2013. Beadle, Amanda P. “Teen Pregnancy Higher in States with Abstinence-Only Policies.” ThinkProgress RSS. Np, April 10, 2010. Web. November 11, 2013. Kay, Julie F., and Ashley Jackson. Sex, lies and stereotypes. University of Southern California Global Health. University of Southern California, 2008. Web. November 17, 2013. Mean Girls. Dir. Marco Acque. SNL Studios, 200. Film."The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs." The truth about abstinence-only programs. Lawyers for Youth, nd Web. November 11. 2013.