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The appropriateness and efficacy of various interventions aimed at preventing early sexual debut among adolescents has been hotly debated; in particular, abstinence interventions have been criticized for being misguided. Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of an abstinence-only intervention in 662 black students (mean age, 12.2 years) in grades 6 and 7 at middle schools serving low-income communities in one northeastern U.S. city. The intervention was based on social cognitive theory as well as theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. Participants were randomized to abstinence-only intervention, safer-sex–only intervention, one of two comprehensive interventions combining abstinence and safer …