More comprehensive sex education reduced teen births: Quasi-experimental evidence

Abstract

Significance Sex education for youth in the United States has been the topic of considerable debate among researchers, policy makers, and the public at large. In this study, we focus attention on federal funding for more comprehensive sex education that was received by a mix of public and private organizations in 55 US counties. Our analyses provide population-level causal evidence that funding for more comprehensive sex education led to an overall reduction in the teen birth rate at the county level of more than 3%. This study thus contributes causal evidence relevant to ongoing debates on the potential role more comprehensive sex education may play in reducing teen births in the United States.