E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAbout 43 percent of teenagers age 15-19 have had sexual intercourse at least once according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s periodic National Survey of Family Growth released today. That’s about the same percentage as in the 2002 survey, but there was an important positive difference: Boys are using condoms more often both as the sole method of contraception, and also in combination with a girl’s hormonal contraception.
Eighty percent of the teen boys surveyed used a condom the first time they had sex, an increase of 9 percentage points from 2002.
Meanwhile, girls are using hormonal contraception at about the same rate they did in 2002, but are making increasing use of new versions, including the birth control patch, emergency contraception, and injectables.
Whether because of these changes or a combination of other factors, the teen birth rate, which had showed an alarming uptick from 2005 to 2007, fell back once again to 39.1 births per 1,000 girls between 15-19 in the year 2009. That represents a 37 percent drop since 1991.
Nevertheless, said James Trussell, who directs Princeton University’s Office of Population Research and is an expert on family planning, the new data, based on interviews with 4,662 teens between 2006 and 2010, aren’t necessarily worthy of applause.
Given that the teen pregnancy rate of roughly 70 per 1,000 girls is more than double that of Canada, for example, the U.S. has a long way to go.
“There is a serious lack of education,” about sexuality and contraception, he said in an interview. “We run a website at Princeton where I answer questions and we’ve had 12,000 or more since it began. The amount of ignorance is overwhelming.”
While use of emergency contraception – which was hotly debated when it was introduced – has risen, neither it nor other hormonal methods except implants work that well, Trussell explained, because they require patient adherence. “It’s the same problem adults have,” he said. “They have to comply with instructions or the methods won’t work nearly as well as IUDs and [hormonal] implants. Until we get much greater fractions of women, including teens, using IUDs and implants, we are not going to see huge reductions in unintended pregnancies.”
The issue of sex education may play out once again during the coming election year. Though study after study has shown that abstinence-only sex education “only makes sure that teens having first sex don’t use contraception,” Trussell said, some political candidates still push for it.
Given that the survey showed a strong link between social, family, and educational status and age at first sex, effective educational interventions ought to begin at least as early as junior high school. The survey showed that younger girls whose first sex was with older boys used contraception at a much lower rate than older girls or younger girls who had first sex with a boy their own age. Teaching girls how to say no when they do not want sex, and how to protect themselves when they do, is “extremely valuable,” Trussell argued.
Leave a Comment:
Great news, and further proof that sexual education is what is contributing to this drop in teen birth rates, not ignorance or taboo attitudes about sex.
There is almost always a drop in Abortions and teen pregnancies when Dems are in power!
The GOP and their Right wing big government approach to this issue does not work!
Great news .... moving away from the abstinence only crap will work.
I use the morning after pill for men.
AhHA! I KNEW that actually educating kids on different forms of birth control would work! Now that they know, they can use what they know to protect themselves..so much for brushing off sex as something to "wait for".
I agree with Hot in Miami, the taboo attitudes, the embarrassment, the shame complex, they all need to STOP. It is 2011.
I also think that not only schools, but parents need to talk to their kids...and I mean TALK. There are STILL parents who have the whole shame complex going on, and it interferes with talking to their kids.
About the whole shame/embarrassment complex, I'm hearing so much online about how you should give them a book, and let them come to you if they have questions about the book....no no no no no. So let's see...you give a teenager who's already on a hormonal and emotional rollercoaster a book filled with terms and words that they do NOT understand....it's not like that won't frustrate them or stress them out even more *sarcasm*....you do NOT leave an already stressed out teen on their own to navigate through a book about a complicated subject. Not only that, they are bound to wonder...Why can't mom just talk to me about this? Is it bad? They call it The TALK, not The Book. Giving kids these books are just ANOTHER way of CLOSING OFF your relationship with your kids....they will not feel like you want to be open with them, and they'll keep more to themselves.
the United States can use the experience of people in the Netherlands, Germany, and France to guide its efforts to improve adolescents’ sexual health.
The United States can achieve social and cultural consensus that sexuality is a normal and healthy part of being human and of being a teen. It can do this by using the lessons learned from the European study tours.
I'm glad to see the increase in condom use, and in birth control as well. Junior HS age might be a bit too late for many girls, but teaching girls self-respect can start much earlier. Ultimately, they are responsible for their own bodies and need to understand that no-one should be asking or forcing them to do anything they are uncomfortable with.
When I was 15 my MOM who had a 5th grade education sat sat me down at the kitchen table and gave me the talk with a banana and a condom. I was always given age appropriate info. I always gave my daughter age appropriate information. But let my wife handle most of it. Now she is a state social worker (DCS) making a living off those who didn't get the talk.
Bush. Halleburton. Koch Brothers. Wall Street. Fox news.
The Christian conservatives will be outraged by this development.
Sex education works, conservatives outraged by reality.
What's with calling it "first sex?"
The Christian conservatives will understand by that first sentence that 43% of teenagers are the byproduct of a dysfunctional, sinful, non-Christian family and that America is going to hell. If I close my eyes, I can even see the 'headline' on Fox News.
What's with this headline "Teen Boys Use Condoms More Often"? My first thought was "the same one?", followed by "well, they get lucky more often".
Well, done. After all we only know where we ourselves have been and with whom.
Like the article states - direct link between when a teen first has sex and their education, family, and social experience.
I think abstinence is the best, for many reasons: 1) virginity is special, and should be shared with someone who is deserving of that - not with someone who will be gone in a week or few months or a couple years.
2. STD's are not all protected from condom use - this alone is worth abstinence teaching!! STD's have totally devastated millions of men and women who rue all too late the error of their ways (and ignorance).
3. Having sex is not just for pleasure, it's procreation - it makes babies. I hate abortion/murder, as should all of a life-loving society, and it angers me that people want all the pleasure without any responsibility - babies, and nurturing and helping that child be successful. It's ridiculous in our society for teens who are not even out of school to be doing adult things (sex) when they are themselves NOT YET Adults, and haven't the ability to care responsibly for a child.
4. btw, do any of you who think abortion is all about choice even realize that Planned Parenthood, who is the biggest advocate of abortion, was actually started by people who promoted Eugenics, or the sterilization of African Americans and other "undesireables"? It's so ironic to me that most Democrats and AFrican Americans believe that the Democratic party is the savior of minorities, when if they studied history even a little, they would see it was Republicans who voted for Emmancipation Proclamation, Civil Rights, and to abolish Eugenics. Republicans are all about life and individual freedoms; Democrats are all about socially engineering everyone's life, and none of their solutions works for anyone.
Your thoughts about abstinence is exactly what caused the teen birth rate to skyrocket during the bush years. We cannot rely on scare tactics to get kids to not create unwanted pregnancies. We have to teach them what they need to do to prevent them while they still have sex because the history of the world has shown that given freedom that people are going to have sex. Its a natural instinct. You can have your religious beliefs about abortion and otherwise but as long as abortion and contraception are legal in the United States we need to teach those who need them to use them as needed. Think of it like seat belts.
Abstinence may be best for teens, but like many ideals, it's completely unrealistic. Better to deal with reality head-on and make the best of it.
1. Virginity is nothing special, it just means you have not had sex yet, nothing more.
2. They protect quite well overall. Not having sex cannot protect you from all STD's either.
3. The point of using condoms is to prevent unwanted preg.
@Hot Tamale
Your arguments are just plain idiotic and have no rationality or practicality behind them. I shall dismantle them as follows:
1) Some people view virginity as special, some don't. While you're entitled to your opinion, don't force it on others. Abstinence IS taught in schools along with safe sex. Regardless, though, kids will have sex. At least they're doing it safely.
2) Condoms are 99% effective in preventing every known STD. This is medical fact. In fact, abstinence is not 100% effective in preventing STDs, as kissing can spread HSV-1, also known as oral herpes.
3) Sex is both for reproduction and pleasure, but it doesn't HAVE to be both each time. By your logic, infertile people, old people, or people who simply do not desire children shouldn't have sex. Are you really advocating that the aforementioned abstain from sex? Do you believe that people should only have sex for the sole purpose of procreating? Again, teens are GOING to have sex, no matter what they are taught, so it is logical to prepare them for it so people stay safe and so that girls don't get pregnant as teenagers.
4) This article has nothing to do with Democrat v Republican, it has to do with science. PS: both parties were founded by slave owners, as was this entire country (but this is totally irrelevent to the article). I agree that abortion should not be a form of easy birth control (personal responsibility). I am, however, pro choice. Why? Because I support individual liberty, and frankly, it's none of my business what someone chooses to do with their body, and, if a woman is raped, she should be given a choice about what to do with a bundle of cells she didn't ask for. But most importantly, I'm pro choice because, as a man, I will never know what it's like to be pregnant, or to have to make such a tough decision, and therefore, it's not my place to tell others how to decide upon it.
You seriously believe teenage boys would tell the truth when asked "Did you use a condom the first time you had sex?" Good lord.
This is as bad as those Kinsey addicts who use his "surveys" of closeted gay men in the 1950s to prove that most men are bisexual. Good lord.
"fell back once again to 39.1 births per 1,000 girls between 15-19 in the year 2009."
"Given that the teen pregnancy rate of roughly 70 per 1,000 girls is more than double that of Canada, for example, the U.S. has a long way to go."
...editors...which one is it?
Of the 70 per 1000 that get pregnant, 30.9 have abortions/miscarriages.
Easy.
Yep. One number is the birth rate, the other is the pregnancy rate. Not all pregnancies end in birth, they also end in other ways, whether through natural miscarriage (which is quite common), or medically induced abortion.
Now if they could just get the catholic church on board with modern contraceptives then the percentage would really go up. You can educate all you want but when the church says "no you don't or you will burn in hell" then that is a tough one to get past.
We'd also need the Evangelicals. Perry & Co. dictate Texas' sex-ed program, which is (predictably) abstinence only.
Texas has the 2nd-5th (depending on year) teen birth rate in the nation. We have the 1st-2nd highest rate of repeat teen births. and no, they aren't all Hispanic. In fact Texas has one of the lower Hispanic teen birth rates. Again, exact placement depends on year, but we're always at the top.
We also have a law in place that requires parental consent, or presence, for someone under the age of 18 to discuss sexual matters with their health care professional. Even a 17yr old living on the campus of UT can't go to the campus clinic to get on the pill, pick up free condoms, or be treated for an STD. I had been in college two years, and living on my own for over a year by 17. Even a teen mother, living on her own, can't legally go to her ob/gyn for contraception without her parents.
When presented with our dismal stats on teen pregnancies & birth, Perry replied (paraphrased): "I know in my heart that Abstinence Only Sex-Ed works." Ummm... yeahhh.
Texas State Sex-Ed info only skims over condom use & STD's. There is a line or two about "barrier methods" (condoms), and how they aren't very effective at preventing STD's & pregnancy. The info about STD's is sorely lacking (no pun intended). So kids are essentially taught that condoms are useless for pregnancy and disease prevention, and if a kid gets a rash or a sore down south, they don't know what it might be, and that they should be treated for it.
Oh, Perry also takes more Federal $$$ than any other state for his Abstinence Only sex-ed program. He turned down $$ for scholastic education (leading to a massive loss of ed. programs and teachers jobs), but was only happy too drink it in for his religious crusade of ignorance.
"Yeee-haw! It's time, for the Austin Hillbillies!!". He even has his own ce-ment pond! (well, the taxpayers do. We've been paying $50k a year for him to rent a Barton Creek Mansion for YEARS while the (free) Texas Governors Mansion has been "under renovation" *wink-wink, nudge-nudge*.)
Texas' sex-ed program is not abstinence only, at least not at the middle school level, my son's 7th grade curriculum last year included contraception and disease prevention but more importantly it taught decision making skills.
It's not really that tough to get past. Education and facts are the enemy of christianity. Once those come into play, a wise individual will see christianity for the cult it truly is. And they will pass on it.
I thought IUD's were ineffective in women who haven't yet given birth? They might be a good option for reducing the chance that a teen mom will get pregnant again, but most teens seeking birth control have not ever given birth.
It's untrue that IUDs are ineffective in women who have not given birth. It's easier to insert the device if a woman has had a child as the cervix is more open, though. For some reason, American doctors don't encourage the use of an IUD to a woman who has not given birth, despite the fact that it's a rather popular and effective form of birth control in Europe. From what I understand, the insertion of an IUD is not the most pleasant experience, especially if a woman has not previously given birth.
Let's have the morals of an ally cat and applaude the cheapening of sex and the use of condoms, what a sad state of affairs. It isn't sophistication, it's stupidity that is rampant in our sorry society.
Morals dictated to the masses by other humans trying to convince everyone that a book penned over 2000 years ago by other human beings is the word of a god that no one in the modern age has heard a peep from.
Humans are sexual creatures. Teenagers are boiling masses of hormones and hopes that aren't tempered by experience. How is teaching them how to take care of themselves stupid? They are GOING to have sex. They always have, and they always will.
The only difference is now we don't force the girl to have a back-alley abortion, or force her to marry her boyfriend, or sequester her in a birthing home and steal the baby without her consent.
Not to mention in the times the bible was written fathers married their daughters off at the onset of puberty. It's easy to accomplish a zero unwed mother rate when girls were married by the time they could physically have children. Nature doesn't have morals.
Morals based on a book written by men about a god that demanded not only animal blood, but the blood of his own son.
Morals from a church that allows known child molestors to continue to practice their sick desires.
Morals from a church that burned/killed people simply because they didn't believe as they do.
Morals from a church whose "leader" wears a hat that's likely worth more than many of its followers (whom they demand $ from) makes in a month or even a year.
Morality I would be happy to pass on. And have.
Jim you live in a sheltered world. Nothing wrong with sex. Nothing wrong with sex simply for pleasure. No matter what you think your gods say.
Very good news that sex education works. The "abstinence only" approach is just a miserable failure...and let's face it, in puberty, we're pretty much not using our brains anyway.
Have you seen Teen Mom? I hate to be one of the guys caught up in that shenanigans. Although, I think it has been convincing more teens to use a condom because clearly the life as a "Teen Mom" and her companions sucks.
This whole society, from Hollywood to the NEA, to Planned Parenthood promotes fornication. So why wouldn't these misguided boys have sex whenever. The whole fabric of society is stained with the garbage of liberalism.
Abstinence truly doesn't work because this culture doesn't support it.
A lie is still a lie though thousands believe it. Truth is still truth though one believes it. The following is truth so don't waste your time arguing...
Sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is fornication, adultery, immorality, sin. Period.
Abstinance always 'works'. Weakness fails.
Lonesome Rhoades-2738573:
A lie is still a lie though thousands believe it. Truth is still truth though one believes it. You're right. So why do you still cling to the bible, which was written, and later edited by, flawed men? It's the biggest lie known to the human race. A god that created everything in 7 days...? Oh wait, it was 6 because this all powerful being had to "rest".
This is why you believe it: because it suits your fancy. Your kind just love to jump on your high horse and tell everyone else how to live their lives. How righteous for you.
Do us all a favor: Take you stone throwing back to your hobble and worship your masochistic cloud riding, blood thirsty magic man that can't even write his own book and leave us "normals" alone. For a change.
Maaaaan you humans are nasty. Glad I don't have to deal with that sort of thing. Just grosses me out. Yuck! It's a wonder your species ever happened. Of course your...."sex" doesn't compare to the Scuruvians on Lemptverbroz Limothe. But we won't go into that. Horrendous it is.
I have been celibate for 11 years. I reason to abstain (from many things) is true agape (selfless love) for humanity. I am only middle aged, it is choice not a physical problem. "Let your mind not yourself be free" as Aretha Franklins, song "Respect" says.
It's nice the Catholic Church hasn't gotten their way in this matter. I know it hurts them not to be in control of everyone all the time. Well, not as much as not getting their money. I mean, someone has to pay for the Pope Mobile's up-keep afterall.
Oh well RCC, there's always South Africa. I'm sure you can kill more innocent people there. Good luck with that!