Abstaining from sex: An examination of adult outcomes of female purity pledgers using AddHealth data.

BackgroundOver the past few decades, the U.S. has spent millions of dollars on programs that emphasize the importance of abstinence until marriage, yet these programs rarely succeed in preventing sexual activity, unintended pregnancy, and STIs. While previous research has focused on the influence of abstinence-only education and purity pledges on sexual activity, there is a lack of research examining how this might influence adult mental health.ObjectivesThis study examines whether there is an association between taking an abstinence pledge in adolescence and adult depression for women and whether religiosity impacts this relationship.DesignA quantitative approach was used to analyze publicly-available data.MethodsI analyze two waves of longitudinal data from the Add Health Dataset using binary logistic regression models.ResultsI find those who take virginity pledges do not experience significantly higher or lower depression relative to their peers, and religion may have a protective effect on mental health.ConclusionThe effects of abstinence-only education and religious ideology beyond sexual debut have important implications on gender, mental health, and the life course, and programs should be adapted to advance empirically-sound approaches to improve relationship quality and well-being.