For decades, psychologists and sexuality professionals have pondered this question: How can young adults enjoy mutually satisfying lovemaking? In dozens of studies, they’ve identified many factors that contribute to satisfying young-adult sex:

• Young adults’ individual psychological makeup
• Their relationships with their parents, families, and friends
• Their parents’ willingness to discuss sex, or refusal to mention it
• Their experience, if any, of sexual trauma: child sex abuse, sexual coercion, and sexual assault
• The quality of sexual communication and assertiveness in the relationships they develop
• Their exposure to pornography

All these factors play some role in young adults’ sexual satisfaction. But they don’t entirely explain it. A recent study has added a new element to the list, one never previously considered—the type of sex education young adults received, or did not receive, in high school.

The Study

For a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sexual Medicine, a Ph.D. sex therapist affiliated with a large sex therapy practice in Chicago surveyed 224 coupled young adults about their lives, their relationships, and the quality of their partner sex. But unlike previous studies, this one included questions about the sex education they’d received in high school, if any—whether they’d been taught what social conservatives advocate, abstinence until marriage, or what social liberals promote, comprehensive sex ed, instruction about all contraceptive methods, with emphasis on routine use of condoms during intercourse to avoid sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Independent of all the variables previously mentioned, the young adults most likely to report enjoyable partner sex said their high schools had provided comprehensive sex education. The researcher called her study “the first of its kind,” and concluded that it provides “convincing evidence” that years after high school, young people’s exposure to comprehensive sex education enhanced their sexual and relationship satisfaction.

I must say I was surprised to read this study’s result. Back in the 1970s, I worked in family planning and, as a consultant, taught comprehensive sex education in many high school classes. It looked to me like few, if any, of the students paid much attention. But maybe they did….

Teen Pregnancies Have Plummeted: Who Deserves Credit?

The study’s support for what social liberals advocate adds another dimension to the decades-long controversy over public school sex education. The subject became fraught in the 1970s and 1980s, as U.S. teen pregnancies soared, derailing the young mothers’ lives and often relegating their children to poverty and privation. Across the political spectrum, people screamed at government, Do something!

A good deal of research showed that parents were reluctant to discuss sex with their children, so public health advocates pushed high schools to teach pregnancy prevention. But how? Social conservatives lobbied hard for abstinence only, while social liberals touted the comprehensive approach. Republican-led states usually adopted the conservative program; Democratic-led states usually adopted the liberal.

Something worked. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), since 1991, among young women age 15 to 19, pregnancies have declined a whopping 78 percent. The CDC says “the reasons are not clear.” But both conservatives and liberals were quick to claim credit.

The conservatives were mistaken. Many studies have shown that teaching abstinence doesn’t work:

• Abstinence-only is most deeply entrenched in the South. It’s less popular elsewhere. Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the teen birth rate is highest in the South.
• Many abstinence-only programs ask teens to sign pledges swearing to remain virgins until marriage. But a CDC study shows that only 12 percent of those who take virginity vows keep them—a failure rate of 88 percent.
• Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, analyzed 26 studies of school-based pregnancy-prevention efforts. With abstinence-only, rates often increased.

However, the research shows that comprehensive sex education doesn’t fare better:

• British researchers analyzed eight studies of comprehensive school-based pregnancy- and STI-prevention programs involving 55,157 teens. Before-and-after statistics showed no reductions in pregnancies or STIs.
• The just-mentioned McMaster University analysis of 26 studies included many comprehensive programs. They had zero impact on teens: no delay of first intercourse, no increased use of contraceptives, and no fewer pregnancies or STIs.

It’s easy to see why abstinence-only doesn’t work. Teens have raging hormones. In the U.S., the average age at first intercourse is 16. By the time they’ve graduated high school, a majority of teens are no longer virgins. Telling them “don’t” is like whispering into a hurricane.

But why doesn’t “comprehensive” sex education work? Because it isn’t comprehensive. It focuses only on contraceptives and STI prevention. It never mentions erotic pleasure or how to negotiate sexual repertoire and frequency. It’s not sex education, but dangers-of-sex education. It tells kids to fasten their seat belts, but doesn’t teach a thing about how to drive.

Happier Sex Years After High School

This brings us back to the study. It shows that while comprehensive sex education doesn’t do what it was developed to accomplish—reduce teen pregnancies and STIs—it has provided one clear benefit: happier lovers years after they graduate high school.

Why? The author does not speculate. Here’s my view as someone who taught comprehensive sex education. As young people’s exposure to any sex information increases, so does their feeling that sex is suitable for discussion. They might not have paid much attention in sex ed class in high school, but the study suggests that it opened their minds to receiving more sex information years later and discussing it with their partners. Such conversations are foundational to sexual happiness.

I wish high school sex education classes focused more on pleasure and actual lovemaking, but that does not appear politically feasible, even in the most politically liberal states. Still, the study shows that despite its shortcomings, lessons about contraceptives and infection prevention eventually increase young adults’ enjoyment of sex. That’s something to celebrate—and a good reason for high schools to continue teaching about contraceptives and sexual infection prevention.