WASHINGTON, July 13, 2007
Study Says Fewer Teens Are Having Sex
Report Shows More Teens Use Condoms And Sharp Decline In Teen Birth Rate
-
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.
-
(AP Photo)
-
Interactive HealthWatch Explore health issues including AIDS, cancer and antibiotics.
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.
More From Health
Add a Comment See all 22 Comments
- Federal government should give away free condoms. Put 'em in breakfast cereal. Stick
'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. - Reply to this comment
- Abstain or you will burn in HELL!! *L*....hubba hubba use a rubba!
- Reply to this comment
- Finally, some good news. Give away condoms in the cafeteria, school bus, football games, pep rallies, etc. Everywhere. Get that teen birth rate down to zero. No more baby mamas. No more illegitimate kids. Come one people. We can do it!
- Reply to this comment
- S-E-X *** *** ***. spell it properly.
additionally, hi annika.
love,
*** - Reply to this comment
- Keep in mind this doesn't mean the urge still isn't there with all those raging hormones. I'm going to bet this will cause more teens to experiment with their same s*e*x friends. Yes, the like of MTV make this seem perfectly normal and safe. I hope I'm wrong.
- Reply to this comment
- the numbers are lower because Mark Foley is out of the picture now.
- Reply to this comment
- Don't be reeetarded, Terrapin. Abstaining from *** is obviously the only 100% guarantee protection against either pregnancy or STDs. Condoms, when used properly, can be highly effective as well.
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
----------------------------------------------
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... - Reply to this comment
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.
...- Reply to this comment
- I am glad that fewer teens are having ***, that means there will be more fo the rest of us.
I also agree with "jimibear" that 57% is less than half. - Reply to this comment
- he'd end up in prison with Generlow Wilson so, that accounts for the dip.
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! - Reply to this comment
Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
