1. Waiting will make your relationships better because you’ll spend more time getting to know each other.

2. Waiting will increase your self-respect.

3. Waiting will gain you respect for having the courage of your convictions.

4. Waiting will teach you to respect other people – you won’t tempt or pressure them.

5. Waiting takes the pressure off you.

6. Waiting means a clear conscience (no guilt) and peace of mind (no conflicts, regrets).

7. Waiting will help you find the right mate – someone who values you for the person you are.

8. Waiting means a better sexual relationship in marriage – free of comparisons and based on trust. By waiting, you’re being faithful to your spouse even before you meet him or her.

9. By practicing the virtues involved in waiting – such as faithfulness, good judgment, self-control, modesty, and genuine respect for self and others – you’re developing the kind of character that will make you a good marriage partner.

10. By becoming a person of character yourself, you’ll be able to attract a person of character – the kind of person you’d like to marry and to have as the father or mother of your children.

Source: Kristine Napier, The Power of Abstinence, 1996.

*NOT everybody is doing it. The percentage of high school males who have ever had sex declined from 57% in 1991 to 49% in 2001. The proportion of high school girls who reported having sex decreased from 51% in 1991 to 43% in 2001.

*Teens do not think it is embarrassing to say they are virgins. The vast majority of teens (73%) surveyed recently do not think it is embarrassing for teens to say they are virgins.

*Most teens who have had sex wish they had waited. Sixty-seven percent of teens surveyed who have had sexual intercourse wish they had waited longer. Of those who have had sex, more than one-half of teen boys (60%) and the great majority of teen girls (77%) said they wish they had waited longer to have sex.

*Teens say sex is not acceptable for high school-age teens. Close to six in 10 teens (58%) surveyed recently said sexual activity for high school-age teens is not acceptable, even if precautions are taken against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Id. *Teens say they should be given a strong abstinence message. Ninety-four percent of teens say that it is important for teens to be given a strong message from society that they should abstain from sex until they are at least out of high school.

*Teens decide to delay becoming sexually active for many different reasons. In one survey of teen girls, "values and morals" was the most common reason given. Others included wanting to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, or because they were waiting for the "right" partner.

*Teen males' approval of premarital sex is declining. The proportion of adolescent males aged 17-19 who approve of premarital sex when a couple does not plan to marry decreased from 80% in 1988 to 71% in 1995.

*College freshmen are less likely to approve of casual sex. A record low 40% of college freshmen (down from a record high of 52% in 1987) agree that "if two people really like each other, it's all right for them to have sex even if they've known each other for a very short time."

Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2008.

*Teens are only 10% of the population but account for 25% of the sexually transmitted infection rate. (Centers for Disease Control) *It is estimated that 1 in 5 Americans is now infected with a viral (incurable) sexually transmitted infection. (Alan Guttmacher Institute)

*It is estimated that 1 in 5 Americans is now infected with a viral (incurable) sexually transmitted infection. (Alan Guttmacher Institute) 

*Condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD. (CDC, Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/condoms.pdf )