Contraception--not abstinence--behind decline in teen pregnancy

Shocker, I know.

A new study out of Columbia University and the Guttmacher Institute shows that the recent decline in teen pregnancy is due to contraceptive use.

Between 1995 and 2002, U.S. teen pregnancy rates declined by almost one-quarter (24%). The new study, from Columbia University and Guttmacher Institute investigators, examines data from the federal National Survey of Family Growth to determine the relative contributions of abstinence and contraceptive use to this decline. According to the analysis, most of the decline (86%) was due to more sexually active teens using contraceptives, using more effective methods (e.g., condoms and birth control pills) and using multiple methods (e.g., the pill together with condoms) in 2002 than in 1995.

The study, which is published in the American Journal of Public Health, can also be found here. Now if we could just tell this to the abstinence-only ed folks...