Often, abstinence only education works towards its goals by telling children that engaging in pre-marital sexual activity will likely lead to STDs, psychological distress, and unwed motherhood. It often stresses that a child of an unwed mother will suffer negative repercussions and damage society.
Concern has been expressed about the use of shame to discourage students from engaging in sexual activity and the focus on the purity of female body that frequently comes with abstinence only education.