Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

What Is "Safe Sex"? Understanding The Need For Sex Education Reform, Julianne Baker

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Currently, the United States has no standardized requirement for sex education. This has precipitated a large gap in knowledge about safe sex and a lack of consensus in current social and educational policy. Debates about abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education have reached a standstill. In an effort to advance the discussion, this paper reveals that the neuroscience behind adolescent sexual risk taking provides underutilized evidence for comprehensive sex education programs. Research shows that adolescents have biological differences in their brain structure that result in a decision-making process different from that of adults, one that can preference rash decisions and potentially …