Which Young Adults Enjoy Good Sex?

# Overview A new study reported in the Journal of Sexual Medicine adds high-school sex education type to the list of factors associated with young-adult sexual satisfaction. Researchers surveyed 224 young adults who were in relationships and asked about their sexual lives, relationships, past experiences, and the sex education they received in high school. Those who reported comprehensive sex education in high school were more likely to report satisfying partner sex later on.

# What we already know about young-adult sexual satisfaction Past research has identified multiple contributors to whether young adults experience satisfying sexual relationships. These include:

• Individual psychological traits
• Family relationships and parents' openness about sex
• Experiences of sexual trauma (child sexual abuse, sexual coercion, assault)
• Quality of sexual communication and assertiveness within relationships
• Exposure to pornography

These factors explain some variation in sexual satisfaction but not all of it.

# The new variable: type of sex education The recent study asked a question rarely included before: which kind of sex education—if any—did participants receive in high school? The study contrasted two broad approaches commonly discussed in public debate:

• Abstinence-until-marriage education (often advocated by social conservatives)
• Comprehensive sex education covering contraceptives and condom use (advocated by social liberals)

Independent of the previously studied variables, participants who said their high schools provided comprehensive sex education reported better sexual and relationship satisfaction as young adults. The study's author described it as the first investigation of this kind and concluded the evidence is convincing that comprehensive instruction years earlier enhanced sexual and relationship satisfaction later.

# Historical and policy context Debate over school-based sex education intensified in the 1970s and 1980s amid rising teen pregnancy rates. Different states and districts adopted different approaches along political lines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a large decline in pregnancies among 15–19-year-old women since 1991, but the CDC states the reasons for that decline are unclear. Both political groups have claimed credit.

Research comparing education approaches has produced mixed results on pregnancy and STI outcomes. Reviews cited in the article found:

• A McMaster University review of 26 school-based pregnancy-prevention studies found abstinence-only programs sometimes increased rates and that many comprehensive programs had limited impact on delaying first intercourse or reducing pregnancies.
• A separate review of eight comprehensive-program studies covering over 55,000 teens reported no reductions in pregnancies or STIs in before-and-after comparisons.

# Interpretation and next steps

# Bottom line Comprehensive sex education in high school is associated in this study with higher reported sexual and relationship satisfaction among coupled young adults. The finding adds a new dimension to the debate over sex-education policy but should be weighed alongside prior evidence about program effects on pregnancy and STI rates and replicated in larger, diverse samples.