Youngsters, who save sex for married life, take less precaution while love making than their peers, a new study suggests.

These findings based on a comparative study of so-called virginity pledgers and non-pledging teens.

“The findings suggest that the virginity pledge has no effect on the sexual behavior,” researcher, concluded.

Sometime virginity pledges are part of self-denial sex educational programs in many churches, schools and colleges in the U.S. However, keeping in view the current finding researchers claim that, “virginity pledges can’t be taken as yard stick, in respect of effectiveness of the abstinence sex education program.”

For this particular study, researcher Rosenbaum analyzed data from national health survey of U.S. adolescents. She isolated 289 teens aged 15 who, in 1996, said they had taken a virginity pledge; she made comparison with 645 non-pledging adolescents who were close to the pledgers for many key characteristics, including socio- religious believes and normal attitudes toward sex.

After five years later, when the same teenagers surveyed again 82 percent of pledgers denied ever taking a virginity pledge and they were almost similar to non-pledgers in sexual behavior.

Around 75 percent of the study participants in both groups reported, they have had sexual intercourse with three love partners in their lifetime. Teens with virginity pledge did have use less condom and birth control pills.

According to Rosenbaum, “Clinicians should provide birth control information to all adolescents, especially virginity pledgers.”