Researchers have found that strategies known to help adolescents avoid risky behaviors like smoking, drinking, and drug use can also be effectively used in abstinence-based education programs. Just one-third of the preteens who participated in a newly developed abstinence-only program had sexual intercourse within the next 2 years, while more than half of those who were taught about safe sex and contraceptives had intercourse during that same period. The new intervention focuses on helping youth realize that they are more likely to achieve life goals if they are abstinent and involves activities designed to help them resist peer pressure.