In addition, students who had sex education were more likely to use contraception during their first sexual encounter compared with those who hadn’t received sex ed. They also had “healthier partnerships,” being less likely to lose their virginity to someone more than three years older or younger than themselves. [Teen Pregnancy: A Winnable Public Health Battle?]

The researchers found little difference on these contraception measures between the abstinence-only group and the group who received birth control instruction, although young women who had received birth control instruction were more likely to protect themselves by using condoms during their first intercourse. Other studies have found that comprehensive sex education is better at delaying vaginal sex and reducing teen pregnancy than abstinence-only education; however, a 2010 study published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that abstinence education can delay sex in young teens.

“It appears that talking with adolescents about sex — before they first have sex — seems to be what is important, regardless of the specific subject matter,” the researchers wrote in the new study published online March 7 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.