Teen Sexual Behavior: More than half of teens are not sexually active*.
• Teen sexual activity rates are decreasing.
1995: 49% of females sexually active
2002: 46% of females sexually active
1995: 55% of males sexually active
2002: 46% of males sexually active
*Definition: Having had vaginal intercourse
Teen Thoughts on Sex: Teens want committed relationships and sex later.
• 85% of teens think sex should take place only in committed relationships.
• More than 70% of teens don’t think it’s okay to have sex in high school.
• Most sexually active teens wish they had waited longer to have sex.
Parents Thoughts on Teen Sex: Parents want teens to be taught to delay sex.
• 79% of parents believe that sex should be linked to love, intimacy and commitment and that these qualities are most likely to occur within marriage.
• 85% of parents believe abstinence from sexual activity is best for teens.
• More than 90% of adults think society should encourage teens to wait for sex until after high school.
Teen Childbearing: At a historic low!
• “Childbearing among teenagers declined for the 12th straight year to another historic low.”
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD): A real health threat – abstinence is 100% effective.
• Approximately 18.9 million new cases of STD occurred in 2000, of which 9.1 million (48%) were among persons aged 15-24. Three STDs (human papillomavirus (HPV), trichomoniasis and chlamydia) accounted for 88% of all new cases of STD among 15-24-year-olds.
Condom Use/Effectiveness: Nearly 40 years of teaching and still low use.
• With the possible exception of herpes and HIV, studies show no risk reduction for various STDs with inconsistent condom use.
• Condoms must be used 100% correctly for each sex act outside of a lifelong monogamous relationship in order to have any protection from STDs.
(over)
• Reported use in adolescent females: 13% to 50%, compared to 45% by males.
• There is no evidence that condom use reduces the risk for HPV transmission.
Effectiveness of Abstinence Education Curricula Research: It’s working!
• Peer-reviewed journals find:
o Increased abstinence accounted for 67% of the birthrate drop among singles.
o Fifty-three percent of the decline in the teen pregnancy rate is due to decreased sexual experience (CDC).
o Men and women who were virgins until at least age 18, when evaluated approximately 20 years later, had about half the risk of divorce and had completed about an additional year of education compared to their counterparts who had early sexual experience.
ENDNOTES
Child Trends, “Facts At A Glance,” March 2005.
Bill Albert, “With One Voice 2004: American’s Adults and Teens Sound off about Teen Pregnancy, An Annual National Survey,” The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (December 2004) p. 5.
Bill Albert, “With One Voice 2004: American’s Adults and Teen Sound off about Teen Pregnancy, An Annual National Survey,” The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (December 2004) p. 5.
Bill Albert, “With One Voice 2004: American’s Adults and Teen Sound off about Teen Pregnancy, An Annual National Survey,” The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (December 2004).
Zogby International, “2004 Survey on Parental Opinions of Character or Relationship-based Abstinence Education vs. Comprehensive (or Abstinence-First, Then Condoms) Sex Education,” January 28, 2004.
Zogby International, “2004 Survey on Parental Opinions of Character or Relationship-based Abstinence Education vs. Comprehensive (or Abstinence-First, Then Condoms) Sex Education,” January 28, 2004.
Bill Albert, “With One Voice 2004: American’s Adults and Teens Sound off about Teen Pregnancy, An Annual National Survey, “The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Vital Statistics Reports, “Births: Final Date for 2003,” vol. 54, (2005).
Hillard Weinstock, Stuart Berman, Willard Cates, Jr., “Sexually Transmitted Diseases among American Youth: Incidence and Prevalence Estimates, 2000,” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, vol. 36 (2004).
A. Wald, AG. Langengerg, K. Link, et al. “Effect of Condoms on Reducing the Transmission of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 From Men to Women,” Journal of The American Medical Association, vol. 285 (2001): pp. 3100-3106.
D. Barlow, “The Condom and Gonorrhea,” Lancet, (1977).
RE. Bunnell, L. Dahlberg L, R. Rolfs, R. Ransom, K. Gershman, C. Farshy, et al., “High Prevalence and Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Urban Adolescent Females Despite Moderate Risk Behaviors,” Journal of Infectious Diseases, 180 (1999): 1624-1631.
RA. Crosby, RJ. DiClemente, GM. Wingood, D. Lang, KF. Harrington, “Value of Consistent Condom Use: A Study of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention among African American Adolescent Females,” American Journal of Public Health, 93 (2003): 901-902.
FL. Sonenstein, L. Ku, LD. Lindberg, CF Turner, JH. Pleck, “Changes in Sexual Behavior and Condom use Among Teenaged Males: 1988 to 1995,” American Journal of Public Health, 88 (1998): pp. 956-959.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, “Workshop Summary: Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Prevention,” (2000) and Julie Louise Gerberding, “Report to Congress: Prevention of Genital Human Papillomavirus Infection,” (2004). http://www.niaid.nih.gog/dmid/stds/condomreport.pdf
J.K. Mohn. LR. Tingle, R. Finger, “An Analysis of the Causes of the Decline in Non-Marital Birth and Pregnancy Rates for Teens from 1991 to 1995,” Adolescent and Family Health, vol. 3 (2003): 39-46.
J.S. Santelli, J. Abma, S. Ventura, “Can Changes in Sexual Behavi
ors among High School Students Explain the Decline in Teen Pregnancy Rates in the 1990s?” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 35(2004): 80-90.
R. Finger, T. Thelen, J. Vessey, J. Mohn, J.Mann, “Association of Virginity at Age 18 with Educational, Economic, Social, and Health Outcomes in Middle Adulthood,” Adolescent and Family Health, vol. 3 (2005):164-170.
For further information visit: www.focusonsocialissues.org Sexual Health Update 2005