It’s all in how you present a subject. A recent study currently making its way through reportage shows a slight negative correlation between number of sex partners and GPA in high school. The headlines depend on who you read. Some headlines (linked to the articles) for example:

Survey: Sex affects grades and Teen sex doesn’t cause bad grades and Teen Sex Not Always Bad for Grades all cite the same study presented to the American Sociological Association in Atlanta yesterday. The American Family Council declared that the study confirms the negative link between teenage sexuality and academic performance.

It really doesn’t. There was no academic difference between abstinent kids and those who have committed relationships including sex. But girls in the promiscuous hook-up crowd earned GPA’s of 0.16 points less than virgins. That’s about 1/3 of the way between an A and an A-. Horrors.

But everyone knows that the adolescent emotional problems that lead to promiscuity also tend to lead to bad grades. But that’s just folk wisdom; common sense. Now there is an Actual Study to confirm the correlation. It’s a pity that none of the coverage I’ve found links to the study itself.