Teen Sex: Trends and Statistics

March 15, 2023 | Stephen Forrester, SRAS

As a parent, you care about the health and well-being of your child.

One of the most practical ways to protect your teen is to keep up with the latest trends and statistics regarding teen sexual behavior. Clearly communicating the benefits of sexual delay helps students obtain the knowledge and skills needed to make the best decisions regarding sex, relationships, and future goals.

Below are some trends and statistics which reinforce the importance of educating your teen on the benefits of delaying sexual activity:

Most Teens Are Not Having Sex

· Among teens age 15 to 17, over 50% have never had any sexual contact with the opposite sex.[1]

· Over the past three decades, the percent of high school females who are waiting for sex has increased 27%. During the same time, the percent of high school males who are waiting for sex has increased 43%.[2]

· Also, teen birth rates have declined over 70% in the last 30 years.[3]

The Consequences Are Significant

· About 40% of sexually active teen girls (14 to 19 years old) have at least one STD (emphasis mine).[4]

· More than 1/2 of all new STDs are found among young people (15 to 24 years old), although they only represent 1/4 of the sexually experienced population.[5]

· Herpes and HPV can be easily transmitted even with the use of a condom because they are spread through skin-to-skin contact.[6]

· Females experience the majority of negative consequences resulting from STDs, even though the yearly count of new infections is roughly equal among young males and young females.[7]

· Young adults (age 15-24) contract about half of the 26 million new STDs each year, costing about $4.16 billion in direct medical costs.[8]

What Do Other Teens Think?

· Most adolescents support reserving sex for marriage, both in general and for themselves.[9]

· About one half of 18- and 19-year-olds wish they had waited longer before becoming sexually active.[10]

· More than 80% of older teens believe it is possible for a person to stop having sex after having been sexually active before.[11]

The Effectiveness of Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) Education

· Most American parents want their children to wait for marriage before having sex.[12]

· Most parents, regardless of race or political party, support Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) education with similar enthusiasm, endorsing all the major themes presented in an SRA education class.[13]

· Delaying sex seems to support the permanence of future marriage.[14]

· Deciding to wait to have children until marriage decreases the likelihood that both parent(s) and child will live in poverty.[15]

· Students who attend SRA education programs are more likely to delay sexual activity, and, if sexually active, are more likely to discontinue or decrease their sexual activity.[16]

I hope this information will be helpful and encouraging as you work hard to ensure the health and well-being of your teen. Delaying sexual activity is worth it!

References

[1] National Center for Health Statistics. (2011). Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity in the United States: Data from the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth. National Health Statistics Reports. 36 :17, 18

[2] CDC (2020). High School YRBS: 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2023, at https://yrbs-explorer.services.cdc- .gov/#/

[3] Hamilton BE, Rossen L, Lu L, Chong Y. U.S. and state trends on teen births, 1990–2019. National Center for Health Statistics. 2021.Designed by L Lu, BE Hamilton, L Rossen, A Lipphardt, JM Keralis, and Y Chong: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-visualization/teen-births/

[4] Forhan, S. E., Gottlieb, S. L., Sternberg, M. R., Xu, F., Datta, S. D., McQuillan, G. M., et al. (2009). Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among female adolescents aged 14 to 19 in the United States. Pediatrics, 124(6), 1505-1512

[5] National Overview - Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2019. (2021, April 13). National Overview - Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2019/overview.htm

[6] Centers for Disease Control. (2017) Genital Herpes – CDC fact sheet. Accessed March 2023 at http://www. cdc.gov/std/herpes/stdfact-herpes.htm

[7] 3 CDC (2013) Fact Sheet: Incidence, Prevalence and Cost of STIs in the US. Accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/STI-Estimates-Fact-Sheet-Feb-2013.pdf

[8] CDC (2021) Sexually Transmitted Infections Prevalence, Incidence, and Cost Estimates in the United States. Accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/prevalence-2020-at-a-glance.htm

[9] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2010) National Survey of Adolescents and Their Parents: Attitudes and Opinions About Sex and Abstinence. Washington, D. C.: HHS. Accessed March 14, 2023.

[10] Barna Group. (2015). Teens Speak Out survey. Ventura: Author. Retrieved March 14, 2023.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Pulse Opinion Research (2012). Parents Speak Out. Available at www.WhatTheyToldUs.org

[13] Barna Group. (2015). Americans Speak Out survey. Ventura: Author. Retrieved March 14, 2023.

[14] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2001). Trends in the Well-Being of America’s Children and Youth, 2000. Office of the Ass.t Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Washington, DC

[15] Wilcox, B., & Wang, W. (2017, June). The millennial success sequence: Marriage, kids, and the ‘success sequence’ among young adults. American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for Family Studies. https://www.aei.org/research-products/working-paper/millennials-and-the-success-sequence-howdoeducation-work-and-marriage-affect-poverty-and-financial-success-among-millennials/

[16] 2010 Abstinence Education Evaluation Conference, April 2010, Arlington, VA. “Evaluating CommunityBased Risk Prevention Programs for Youth: Informing Abstinence Education.” Sponsored by the Family & Youth Services Bureau and the Center for Research and Evaluation on Abstinence Education at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services