Setting Dating Limits and Practicing Abstinence

1. Setting dating limits and practicing abstinence will benefit all three sides of your health triangle.

2. Dating Decisions Personal values and priorities will influence your dating decisions. Dating provides opportunities to develop social skills, discover new interests, and reaffirm personal values.

3. Dating Decisions Some teens may decide not to date because they have other priorities likefocusing on school or spending time with family. Priorities The goals, tasks, values, and activities that you judge to be more important than others

4. Dating Decisions If you decide to date, communicate your thoughts and feelings honestly. Never feel pressured to do anything that goes against your values or your family’s values.

5. Setting Limits Setting limits and making them clear before a date will help ensure safe and positive dating experiences. The most important limit you can set is to practice abstinence.

6. Abstinence There are many strategies that can help you commit to abstinence. Abstinence is a deliberate decision to avoid high-risk behaviors, including sexual activity and the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

7. Abstinence Abstinence does not mean doing without intimacy or expressing affection in a close, special friendship. Intimacy A closeness between two people that develops over time

8. Abstinence It is important not to confuse genuine affection and intimacy with infatuation. Infatuation Exaggerated feelings of passion

9. Abstinence Practicing abstinence requires planning and self-control. Self-control a person’s ability to use responsibility to override emotions

10. Abstinence It’s normal and healthy to have sexual feelings. You cannot prevent sexual feelings from occurring, but you can control how you react to those feelings.

11. Abstinence Tips for Practicing Abstinence Set limits for expressing affection. Communicate with your partner. Talk with a trusted adult. Seek low-pressure dating situations. Date someone who respects and shares your values.

12. Avoiding Risk Situations Before you go on a date: • know where you’re going and what you will be doing. • find out who else will be there. • discuss with your parents or guardians what time they expect you home.

13. Avoiding Risk Situations Avoid places where alcohol and other drugs are present. People under the influence of alcohol and other drugs have impaired judgment and are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors.

14. Avoiding Risk Situations Avoid being alone with a date at home or in an isolated place. These situations also increase the risk of losing self control or being forced into a sexual act against your will.

15. Avoiding Risk Situations Going out in a group can reduce some of the pressures of dating.

16. Considering the Consequences Abstinence from sexual activity has a positive effect on all sides of your health triangle. Sexual activity can harm a teen’s physical, mental/emotional, and social health.

17. Considering the Consequences It is illegal for an adult to have sexual contact with someone under the age of consent. Consent laws, which vary from state to state, make it illegal for an unmarried minor to engage in sexual activity.

18. Effects on Physical Health Many teens make the decision to practice abstinence because it is the only 100 percent effective method to eliminate health risks associated with sexual activity.

19. Effects on Physical Health Risks associated with sexual activity include unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) Infectious diseases spread from person to person through sexual contact

20. Unplanned Pregnancy Every year in the United States, about one million teenage girls become pregnant. A pregnancy can result even if teens are engaging in sexual activity for the first time.

21. Sexually Transmitted Diseases Each year, about half of the diagnosed cases of STDs occur among teens and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. Although many STDs can be treated and cured if diagnosed early, some STDs have no cure.

22. Effects on Mental/Emotional Health Sexually active teens may experience hurt because partners are not committed as in a marital relationship. They may also feel guilt because teens are usually not truthful to their parents about being sexually active.

23. Effects on Mental/Emotional Health Sexually active teens may lose their self-respect because sexual activity goes against personal and family values. They may also feel regret and anxiety, if sexual activity results in an unplanned pregnancy or an STD.

24. Committing to Abstinence Honest communication with your dating partner will help you stay committed to abstinence. To stay firmly committed to abstinence, continue to remind yourself of the reasons that you chose abstinence.

25. Committing to Abstinence Talking About Abstinence Choose a relaxed and comfortable time and place.   Begin on a positive note. Be clear in your reasons for choosing abstinence.  Be firm in setting limits in your physical relationship. 

26. Using Refusal Skills Committing to abstinence means not letting a partner, peers, or the media pressure you to do something you don’t want to do. Use refusal statements to resist the pressure to engage in sexual activity

27. Using Refusal Skills

28. Recommitting to Abstinence Choosing abstinence is always an option regardless of past experiences. Returning to abstinence is a positive alternative to previous sexual behavior.