New statistics on teen sexual activity indicate a downward trend in teens being sexually active. While it may seem surprising, the number of teens having sex is down compared to recent years. It is unclear why the statistics on teen sexual activity are in a state of decline.
New numbers by the Centers for Disease Control indicate sexual activity among teens is declining however researchers don’t have definitive evidence as to why the statistics on teen sexual activity are heading in a downward trend. Similarly, the number of teen pregnancies, while still considered high, are also on the decline for 2010-2011. However, despite these statistical declines, the number of abortions throughout the United States is on the rise. Again, researchers do not yet have enough evidence to know or understand if these numbers are somehow correlating. Read on to learn more about the new statistics on teen sexual activity.
Statistics on teen sexual activity:
- The new CDC statistics on teen sexual activity reveal that 29 percent of women from age 15 to 24 have not had any form of sex.
- Similarly, 27 percent of men in that same age range of have not had any form of sex, which is up four percent from previous years.
- Only about seven percent of teen girls have experience with oral sex. However, teen boys are still more experienced with oral sex with about 10 percent who have engaged in such behaviors.
- Only about 13 percent of teens in general have ever even had sex by age 15.
- The average age most young people have sex is 17. This means, on average, teens are waiting longer to have sex.
- Most teens that are not sexually active report having a moral opposition to having sex prior to marriage.
Statistics on teen sexual activity and contraceptive use:
- Sexually active teens that do not use contraception, have a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within the next 12 months.
- Teens in the United States are more likely to use alcohol and drugs, which leads to more sexual promiscuity and lack of contraceptive use.
- To support that claim, recent statistics from 2009 show that about 22 percent of teens who had intercourse were intoxicated or had done drugs beforehand.
- Many parents and researchers blame the Abstinence only sex education in public school for not teaching teens how to use contraception like birth control and condoms properly, which may account for the continual spread of sexually transmitted diseases and the number of unintended pregnancies.
- According to recent statistics on teen sexual activity, the majority of sexually experienced teen do use contraception–79 percent of females and 87 percent of males.
- Each year there are about 19 million new sexually transmitted infections, and 15 to 24 year olds are responsible for half of that amount.
Based on these statistics on teen sexual activity, it is clear while the numbers of teens having sex might be going down, there are still plenty of teens having sex or engaging in sexual activities and many are still getting pregnant or passing around STDs. Because this is still a problem among teens, it is important for parents to ensure preventative measures with their own teens. The first step to doing this is to recognize that teens are beginning to experiment with sexual activities earlier and earlier. Opening the doors of communication about sex and having sex as a teen are important to do as a parent with teens. Be sure they understand the definition behind abstinence and how to properly use contraception. While it may go against many parents’ moral beliefs, according to these statistics over 70 percent of all teens are still going to have teen sex. This is why it is important to make sure they know how to protect themselves from STDs and unintended pregnancies.
It is unclear exactly why the number of teens choosing to abstain from sex is rising. However, some researchers think abstinence-only sex education might be paying off. However, there are others that think teens instead might be simply too busy to have time for sexual relationships with their peers. Others speculate it could be the Internet taking over social interaction among teens providing a distraction from real-life relationships. Regardless of the reason, sex education is still important information for parents to bestow among their children even if the schools are simply only teaching abstinence-only education.
Sources: cdc.gov, guttmacher.org