The gist of the post (above) is that the actual information revealed by the study is not actually what a large portion of the media says it is. The report does not in fact indicate that pledges don’t work. Rather, it simply indicates that it is not the pledge itself that makes the difference, but the mindset and worldview behind those taking the pledge. But there is a difference.

While abstinence doesn’t address everything, we also need to recognize that the problems are complicated, because they are entrenched, and that we do need long-term, cause-addressing approaches, not band aid solutions that in the long term are ineffective in changing human behavior, and the problems that result.