Teens: September 2009 Archives
Young people commonly engage in risky sexual behaviors (sex at a young age and/or unprotected sex) and increasingly are at risk for STDs and pregnancy, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report, Sexual and Reproductive Health of Persons Aged 10--24 Years --- United States, 2002—2007, analyzes sexual health and behavior data from a number of surveillance systems. The latest findings indicate:
- A majority of 18 and 19 year olds (70.6% of females; 64.7% of males) report having had sex.
- Approximately 30% of males and females ages 15-17 say they have had sex.
- Roughly 30% of 15-19 years olds report having multiple partners.
More than two-thirds of adolescents say they’ve received guidance in using contraceptives, and nearly 70% of male and females ages 15-19 used condoms at first intercourse.
Still, sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) are increasing among young people, and the authors say the numbers may reflect the advent of better screening programs. Regardless, the news isn’t encouraging: In 2006, nearly 22,000 youth were living with HIV, and approximately 1 million had a reportable sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis).
What do teens and adults really think?
Take a minute and check out this report from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy – one of my favorite resources to keep up with teens and sex.
It’s called “With One Voice – America’s Teens and Adults Sound Off About Teen Pregnancy” and is chock full of some very interesting information. One of the most interesting things is how differently adults and teens see the same issues.
Nearly 50% of teens say their parents are the most influential when it comes to making decisions about sex, while only 34% of parents believe this to be the case. Or this little nugget: 89% of parents say they’ve had a “meaningful” conversation about sex and about 71% of teens say they have. A wee disconnect there, huh?
66% of teens agree that their parents don’t know what to say, when or how to say it when it comes to sex. The good news is that 88% of parents think this too. So we’ve managed to fake it pretty well! I’d love to see the percentage of teens that think we don’t know what we’re doing somewhere in the 20% range.
What can you do to help bring this number down? I suspect that by just opening the door to conversations, their opinions will begin to shift.
Read the whole thing – lots of diagrams, so easy reading!
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/national-data/pdf/WOV2007_fulltext.pdf
