Among teenagers who pledged not to have sex before marriage, a majority did not live up to their vows, according to a national study reported on Tuesday.Of the 12,000 teenagers included in the federal study, 88 percent of those who pledged chastity reported having had sexual intercourse before they married.The findings challenge a number of assumptions underlying the policies of the Bush administration and private groups that encourage virginity pledges as part of promoting abstinence before marriage.Under the Clinton and Bush administrations the agency has promoted abstinence as the only sure way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and has recommended monogamy and the use of condoms for those who are sexually active.The new findings are part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The study is financed by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Science Foundation. The findings were based on a six-year follow-up of participants who entered the study when they were 12 to 18 years old.
