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HPV vaccine and promiscuity

The journal Pediatrics just published a study about the HPV vaccine. Human papillomavirus virus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted disease that can make certain types of cancer more likely. There is a vaccine to prevent one from getting it.

The vaccine itself is not controversial, but the federal government's recommendation that tweens (age 11 and up) receive it-- i.e., at an age before the onset of sexual activity- was. Some parents are worried that giving their children the vaccine will encourage them to go out and have sex.

But is this true? USA Today reports:
Preteen girls who received the HPV vaccine were no more likely than unvaccinated girls to get pregnant, develop sexually transmitted infections, or seek birth-control counseling, finds the latest study to discount concerns that vaccination against the human papillomavirus encourages promiscuity.
The logic that leads people to resist the HPV vaccine is similar to that used by people who argue against sex education that includes information about contraceptives. The idea appears to be that giving a boy or girl the HPV vaccine or teaching adolescents how to put a condom on a banana is a signal that sexual activity is permissible and/or inevitable.

An additional possible logic is that withholding the HPV vaccine and knowledge about contraception provides an additional disincentive to engaging in sexual activity: If you have sex, there is the risk of getting an STD or getting pregnant (or getting someone pregnant), so you will be scared off having sex.

As it turns out, it doesn't work that way. Sexual education programs that include birth control information do not increase adolescent sexual activity, and neither does giving girls, at least, the HPV vaccine.

This should be good news for parents who are worried about sending the wrong message to their kids, but it is hard to overcome 'common sense' concerns with scientific evidence.

Links:

Pediatrics home page: See links to abstracts under "eFirst Pages (early release articles)"

Article in USA Today (October 15, 2012): HPV vaccine not tied to increased promiscuity for girls

Article in The New York Times (October 15, 2012): Vaccine Doesn't Alter Sexual Behavior, Study Finds

Abstract to an earlier study with similar results, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine (January 2012): Human papillomavirus vaccine and sexual behavior among adolescent and young women

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