WASHINGTON, July 13, 2007
Study Says Fewer Teens Are Having Sex
Report Shows More Teens Use Condoms And Sharp Decline In Teen Birth Rate
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Play CBS Video Video Teen Sex: Less Common, Safer From better sex education to frank discussion of responsibility, fewer teens are having sex and those who do are doing it more safely. Randall Pinkston reports.
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(AP Photo)
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More young people are finishing high school, too, and more little kids are being read to, according to the latest government snapshot on the well-being of the nation's children. It's good news on a number of key wellness indicators, experts said of the report being released Friday.
"The implications for the population are quite positive in terms of their health and their well-being," said Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics. "The lower figure on teens having sex means the risk of sexually transmitted diseases is lower."
In 2005, 47 percent of high school students — 6.7 million — reported having had sexual intercourse, down from 54 percent in 1991. The rate of those who reported having had sex has remained the same since 2003.
Of those who had sex during a three-month period in 2005, 63 percent — about 9 million — used condoms. That's up from 46 percent in 1991.
One teenager attributes the increased use of condoms to the media, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.
"They get it from school, they get it from media, they get it from their peers," says 19-year-old Annika Ozinskas. "It's like all sources kind of coming together and saying, 'use condoms.'"
The teen birth rate, the report said, was 21 per 1,000 young women ages 15-17 in 2005 — an all-time low. It was down from 39 births per 1,000 teens in 1991.
"This is very good news," said Sondik. "Young teen mothers and their babies are at a greater risk of both immediate and long-term difficulties."
The birth rate in the 15-19 age group was 40 per 1,000 in 2005, also down sharply from the previous decade.
Education campaigns that started years ago are having a significant effect, said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington-based nonprofit group that focuses on prevention of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
"I think the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the efforts in the '80s and '90s had a lot to do with that," Wagoner said of the improved numbers on teen sex, condoms and adolescent births.
"We need to encourage young teens to delay sexual initiation and we need to make sure they get all the information they need about condoms and birth control," he said.
While there are many programs that reduce teen pregnancy, a government-funded study shows that programs that preach abstinence only don't make a difference, reports Pinkston.
The report was compiled from statistics and studies at 22 federal agencies, and covered 38 key indicators, including infant mortality, academic achievement rates and the number of children living in poverty.
Other highlights:
The report was released by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics — a consortium of federal agencies that includes the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Census Bureau and the Administration for Children and Families.
©MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 22 Comments'em in video game packages. Offer money as an incentive to young men to get sterilized. Then they can have all the fun they want without worrying about getting some girl pregnant.
Know what happens to illegitimate babies born to teenage mothers? They often become violent criminals/drug dealers, etc, & end up in jail/prison where it is anything but cheap to keep them for years & years. Very few came from a stable home life with parent/s who cared about them & loved them.
additionally, hi annika.
love,
***
If someone doesn't want to abstain, they should use a condom, pure and simple. Most peoples' hang-up comes in that the religious groups have taken abstaining as their cause and turned everyone else off to a good thing.
Posted by tcoleman12
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Highly, but not completely. And licking the area can spead some things too...
What's wrong with keeping *** special anyway? The anything-for-money media is the one responsible for tarting things up and letting anything be said (and done) in TV and movies...
Fewer teens having ***, and the teen birth rate at a record low...
I bet that the Planned Parenthood people are wetting their pants about how to get those numbers back up.
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I also agree with "jimibear" that 57% is less than half.
Posted by trouble1985 at 12:12 PM : Jul 13, 2007
Wilson is right where he belongs. He was sentenced IAW the law of the day. The judge had NO leeway in the sentence.
Also, the released tape (which you obviously have not seen) casts a serious shodow over the "consensual s*x" story the media puts out. The 15 year old girl was clearly drunk and not consenting.
Defend it if you want...you're defending a rapist. I'll bet you supported Clinton, too!
What part of the country is this consortium based in? What does the Census Bureau have to do with teen ***, I always thought that they were number crunchers for the population count in America? What were the age groups pf these "teens"? I've seen pregnant girls as young as twelve and thirteen years old.
I can only hope that the numbers are correct. I think that "children" have enough going on in their lives without the added responsibility that comes with having ***. However, if they are having *** they should use protection, and I can only hope that their parents have enough sense to at least talk to their children about the dangers and responsibility that goes along with having ***. I started having conversations with my children when they were as young as 8 and 12 years old. That child psychology course was really interesting that semester!
His girls will soon be teens.
He may want to read this article to them.
Posted by jimibear at 10:39 AM : Jul 13, 2007"
LOL ... I mean 47%, of course ... heh.
Posted by jimibear at 10:39 AM : Jul 13, 2007
You are MUCH better at comedy than you are at math!! LOL
Today's kids have no initiative. Where's the
f*ck it if it moves" spirit we all had as teenagers?
I blame TV and video games.
This is going to put a serious hurt on RandallB$'s DVD collection. When he wakes up and sees this, he's gonna be upset! LOL
If someone doesn't want to abstain, they should use a condom, pure and simple. Most peoples' hang-up comes in that the religious groups have taken abstaining as their cause and turned everyone else off to a good thing.
Where did these teens learn about condoms? Certainly not in *** ed in school. Aren't they taught that condoms are no good and to abstain from *** as the way to prevent pregnancy and STD's?
The blasted media is behind them learning about condoms and saving their lives by protecting themselves.
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