"Three Decades of Research:" A New Sex Ed Agenda and the Veneer of Science

Irene H Ericksen; Stan E Weed

"Three Decades of Research:" A New Sex Ed Agenda and the Veneer of Science

Issues Law Med. 2023 Spring;38(1):27-46.

Authors

Irene H Ericksen¹, Stan E Weed²

Affiliations

¹ Irene H. Ericksen, M.S., is a Senior Research Associate at The Institute for Research & Evaluation, a nonprofit research agency that has been evaluating sex education in schools for more than 30 years, involving more than 100 evaluation studies and 900,000 teens, including studies in 30 U.S. states (many federally funded) and three international countries. She has spent 15 years in the field of sex education research; was one of six national consultants to a landmark CDC sponsored meta-analysis on sex education effectiveness (2012); has been an invited presenter at the National Academies of Sciences (2019), United Nations Civil Society Conference (2019), and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2020); and is an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Pediatricians (2020).
² Stan E. Weed, Ph.D., is the Founder and Director of The Institute for Research & Evaluation, a nonprofit research agency that has been evaluating sex education in schools for more than 30 years, involving more than 100 evaluation studies and 900,000 teens, including studies in 30 U.S. states (many federally funded) and three international countries. Dr. Weed was a charter member of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (now called Power to Decide); has been invited to provide expert testimony on sex education to state legislative bodies, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the White House (2009); and has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2018).

PMID: 37642452

Abstract

The research review, "Three Decades of Research: The Case for Comprehensive Sex Education," by Goldfarb and Lieberman (2021), purports to show "strong support" for the effectiveness of school-based comprehensive sex education (CSE) at producing many benefits beyond its original goals of preventing teen pregnancy and STDs. We reviewed the evidence the study cites in support of these claims, item by item, and found that 1) 80% of the sources cited as supporting evidence for CSE are not studies of CSE programs and 2) of the few cited studies of actual CSE programs, roughly 90% do not meet recommended scientific standards for evidence of program effectiveness. Important to note, contrary to its claims, the study does not show scientific evidence that comprehensive sex education helps prevent child sex abuse, reduces dating/intimate partner violence or homophobic bullying, or that it should be taught to young children in the early grades. Rather than making "the case for CSE," Goldfarb and Lieberman's review gives the appearance of scientific support to a new CSE agenda that the authors articulate and endorse, which includes early sex education, gender ideology, and social justice theory. However, they do not present scientifically reliable confirmatory evidence for that agenda.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Bullying*
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Intimate Partner Violence*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy in Adolescence* / prevention & control
Schools
Sex Education