Giving out free condoms at school is not a surefire way to avoid teenage pregnancy - or it might not be enough。
在學校里發放免費避孕套并不是一個防止青少年懷孕的完全之法--或者說單靠這一措施不足以達到想要的結果。
Access to condoms in schools increases teen fertility rates by about 10 per cent, according to a new study by the University Of Notre Dame。
圣母大學的一項最新研究表明,在學校里能夠獲得避孕套的情況下,青少年們的生育率提高了10%。
However the increase happened in schools where no counseling was provided when condoms were given out - and giving out guidance as well as birth control could have the opposite effect, economists Kasey Buckles and Daniel Hungerman said in the study。
在這份研究中,經濟學家巴克爾斯和亨格曼表示說,生育率有所上升的學校在發放避孕套的時候沒有提供咨詢服務,而在提供生育控制措施的同時提供指導會起到正面的效果。
Access to other kinds of birth control, such as the contraceptive pill, IUDs and implants, has been shown to lower teen fertility rates - but condoms might have opposite consequences due to their failure rate as well as the time and frequency at which they’re used。
而其他避孕措施,例如避孕藥和植入宮內避孕器,在降低生育率方面確有其效--但是由于破損以及被使用的時間和次數的原因,避孕套有可能帶來相反的結果。
Buckles and Hungerman looked at 22 school districts located in 12 different states, using data from the 1990s。
巴克爾斯和亨格曼的研究對象是12個州的22個學區,使用了從20世紀90年代以來的數據。
Times have changed already and teenagers today are overall less likely to have sex and less likely to become pregnant, they wrote。
他們寫道,時代已經改變了,現在的青少年總體上更不可能發生性行為,也更加不可能懷孕。
Most of the free condoms programs in the study began in 1992 or 1993 and about two thirds involved mandatory counseling。
這項研究所關注的免費避孕套項目大多開始于1992年和1993年,三分之二的項目還要提供強制性的咨詢服務。
The 10 per cent increased occurred as a result of schools that gave out condoms without counseling, Buckles and Hungerman said。
據巴克爾斯和亨格曼表示,由于有些學校在發放避孕套的時候沒有提供咨詢服務,因此這些地方的生育率提高了10%。
’These fertility effects may have been attenuated, or perhaps even reversed, when counseling was mandated as part of condom provision,’ they wrote。
他們寫道:“如果咨詢服務被作為避孕套提供項目的一部分而被強制執行的話,生育率的增長可能不會這么高,或者甚至會反向降低。”
Teenage girls were also more likely to develop gonorrhea when condoms were given for free - and again, the increase happened as a result of schools giving out condoms without counseling。
當避孕套是免費發放時,女孩更容易染上淋病--再次,患病率的提高是因為學校在發放避孕套的同時沒有提供咨詢服務。”
Access to contraceptives in general has been shown to lower teen fertility, Buckles and Hungerman noted, or in some cases had no effect at all。
巴克爾斯和亨格曼指出,一般來說,避孕措施降低了青少年的生育率,但是在某些情況下也有可能完全沒有效果。
But condoms might have a different impact because of several factors, such as the fact that their failure rate is more important than that of other contraceptives。
但是由于某些原因,避孕套可能起到不同的效果,例如使用避孕套的失敗率要比其他避孕措施高得多。
Condoms also rely ’more heavily on the male partner’, which is an important factor given that an unplanned pregnancy will have different consequences for each gender, Buckle and Hungerman wrote。
巴克爾斯和亨格曼寫道,避孕套的使用也“更加依靠男方”,男方的行為是意外懷孕的重要原因,取決于男方行為的不同,兩性受結果的影響也將不同。
The time at which condoms are used could also explain why they have a different impact than other types of birth control。 Condoms have to be used at the time of intercourse, whereas the pill, IUDs and implants are all taken in advance。
避孕套使用的時機也能解釋為什么它能夠產生不同于其他避孕措施的效果。避孕套必須在性交的時候使用,而避孕藥和宮內避孕器植入都是在性交之前。
Using condoms also results from a short-term decision rather than long-term。
使用避孕套是一個短期、而非長期考慮的結果。
Free condom programs in schools could have led to two additional births per 1,000 teenage women so far, Buckle and Hungerman found。
巴克爾斯和亨格曼發現,到目前為止,學校里的免費避孕套項目能夠使得每1000名女孩額外多生育兩次。
This could increase to 5 extra births per 1,000 teenage girls if the country’s entire high-school-aged population had access to condoms。
如果全美所有高中適齡人群都能夠得到免費避孕套的話,每千名女生額外生育的次數將上升到五次。
Condom distribution programs could promote the use of condoms over more efficient birth control methods, drive schools to use their resources for condom distribution rather than more effective programs, or might encourage ’risky’ sexual behaviors, Buckle and Hungerman wrote。
巴克爾斯和亨格曼寫道,避孕套發放項目將使得人們使用更多的避孕套,而不是其他效率更高的避孕措施,從而驅使學校使用他們的資源來發放避孕套而不是其他更有效的措施,還會鼓勵“有風險的”性行為。
But these findings should be used with caution when reflecting on policy proposals, they added。
但是他們兩人又補充說道,當被反映在政策中的時候,這些發現應該被小心謹慎地使用。
Health clinics based in schools that offered contraceptives were shown to significantly lower teen fertility in a 2014 study。
2014年的一份研究指出,學校診所通過提供避孕措施顯著降低了生育率。
’If health clinics can effectively combine contraception access and counseling, this may lead to very different effects than access alone,’ Buckle and Hungerman said。
巴克爾斯和亨格曼說道:“如果診所能夠將避孕和咨詢有效地結合起來的話,起到的效果將和只提供避孕措施非常不同。”