The Truth About Adolescent Sexuality

The Truth About Adolescent Sexuality

Information about young people's sexual behavior-from the attitudes they have to the decisions they make to the actions they take-can help parents communicate with their children, educators design sexual health programs, and policymakers support sound public health polices. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of scientific data on adolescent sexual behavior. Research designed to examine this subject is often controversial as adults seem to falsely fear that asking young people about sex is tantamount to giving them ideas and encouragement. While we have some information about sexual intercourse and contraceptive use among teens, we know very little about other behaviors such as masturbation, oral sex, and anal intercourse. In addition, much of the current research is limited to heterosexual behaviors.

This fact sheet will provide data from available research on sexual behavior, including contraceptive use. It will also examine studies and surveys that look at how adolescents feel about sexuality, how they make sexual decisions, how they view relationships, and what they know and want to know about sexuality.

ADOLESCENT SEXUAL BEHAVIOR-WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

Current data shows the age at which teens engage in sexual intercourse, how many partners they have, and the role of alcohol and drug use plays in sexual intercourse.

YRBS SHEDS LIGHT ON YOUTH SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly publishes the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) that measures sexual behaviors, alcohol and other drug use, tobacco use, unhealthy dietary behaviors, physical inactivity, and behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence. The YRBS is conducted every two years with students in grades nine through 12 at high schools across the country. It provides the most current information about adolescent sexual behavior, including history of sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, and contraceptive use. The 2001 YRBS found that:

Sexual Intercourse

• 45.6 percent of high school students (48.5 percent of males and 42.9 percent of females) reported having had sexual intercourse
• 60.5 percent of twelfth graders, 51.9 percent of eleventh graders, 40.8 percent of tenth graders, and 34.4 percent of ninth graders reported having had sexual intercourse
• 60.8 percent of Black students, 48.4 percent of Hispanic students, and 43.2 percent of White students reported having had sexual intercourse
• 33.4 percent of students reported they were currently sexually active (defined as having had sexual intercourse in the three months preceding the study)
• 6.6 percent of students reported initiating sexual intercourse before age 13
• 16.3 percent of Black students, 7.6 percent of Hispanic students, and 4.7 percent of White students reported having had sexual intercourse before age 13

Sexual Partners

• 14.2 percent of students (17.2 percent of males and 11.4 percent of females) reported having had sexual intercourse with four or more partners
• 21.6 percent of twelfth graders, 15.2 percent of eleventh graders, 12.6 percent of tenth graders, and 9.6 percent of ninth graders reported having had sexual intercourse with four or more partners
• 26.6 percent of Black students, 14.9 percent of Hispanic students, and 12 percent of White students reported having had sexual intercourse with four or more partners

Alcohol and Drug Use During Last Intercourse

• Among currently sexually active students, 25.6 percent (30.9 percent of males and 20.7 percent of females) reported using drugs or alcohol during last intercourse
• Among currently sexually active students, 25.4 percent of twelfth graders, 24.7 percent of eleventh graders, 27.7 percent of tenth graders, and 24 percent of ninth graders reported using drugs or alcohol during last intercourse
• Among currently sexually active students, 17.8 percent of Black students, 24.1 percent of Hispanic students, and 27.8 percent of White students reported using alcohol or drugs during last intercourse

NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON ADOLESCENT HEALTH (ADD HEALTH)

ADD Health is a comprehensive national study that examines adolescent health behaviors and other factors that influence their health. A total of 12,118 adolescents in grades 7 through 12 were interviewed. The study found that:2

• 17 percent of seventh and eighth graders reported having had sexual intercourse
• 49.3 percent of ninth through twelfth graders reported having had sexual intercourse
• 39.9 percent of female and 37.3 percent of male adolescents in grades seven through 12 reported having had sexual intercourse
• 11.8 percent of sexually experienced girls in grades seven and eight and 19.4 percent of sexually experienced girls in grades nine to 12 reported having been pregnant

COMPARING THE 1991, 1995, AND 2001 YRBS

The CDC has administered the YRBS biannually since 1991. The results provide a decade of important data on the behaviors of American adolescents. By looking at a sample of results from the 1991, 1995, and 2001 YRBS, educators can gain valuable insight into the sexual behaviors and needs of young people across the country.

Sexual Intercourse History

• 45.6 percent of students reported having ever had sexual intercourse in 2001 compared to 53.1 percent in 1995 and 54.1 percent in 1991
• 26.7 percent of students reported having ever had sexual intercourse but not in the three months preceding the survey in 2001 compared to 28.5 percent in 1995 and 30.7 percent in 1991
• 6.6 percent of students reported having initiated sexual intercourse before age 13 in 2001 compared to 8.9 percent in 1995 and 10.2 percent in 1991

Sexual Partners

• 14.2 percent of students reported having had sexual intercourse with four or more partners in 2001 compared to 17.8 percent in 1995 and 18.7 percent in 1991
• 33.4 percent of students reported being "currently sexually active" (defined as having had sexual intercourse with one or more partners in the three months preceding the survey) in 2001 compared to 37.9 percent in 1995 and 37.5 percent in 1991

Contraceptive Use and Reported Pregnancies

• Among "currently sexually active" students, 57.9 percent reported having used condoms during last intercourse in 2001 compared to 54.4 percent in 1995 and 46.2 percent in 1991
• 4.7 percent of students reported having been pregnant or having gotten someone pregnant in 2001 compared to 6.9 percent in 1995 and 6.0 percent in 1991 "Currently sexually active" was defined as having had sexual intercourse in the three months prior to the survey.

NEW STUDY PROVIDES ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ADOLESCENT SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released the National Survey of Adolescents and Young Adults: Sexual Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences. The survey looks at a nationally representative sample of more than 1,800 young people in three key age groups: young adolescents (ages 13 to 14), adolescents (ages 15 to 17), and young adults (ages 18 to 24). It asked these individuals about their knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality as well as about their sexual experience, including sexual intercourse, oral sex, and intimacy. Questions about personal experiences were only asked of participants ages 15 and older. The survey found that:3

Sexual Intercourse

• 37 percent of adolescents ages 15 to 17 (42 percent of males and 33 percent of females) reported having had sexual intercourse
• 80 percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 (83 percent of males and 78 percent of females) reported having had sexual intercourse
• Among adolescents ages 15 to 17 who had engaged in sexual intercourse, 11 percent reported having first had intercourse at 12 or 13, 44 percent at 14 or 15, and 37 percent at 16 or 17
• Among young adults ages 18 to 24 who had engaged in sexual intercourse, two percent reported having first had intercourse at 11 or younger, six percent at 12 or 13, 23 percent at 14 or 15, 41 percent at 16 or 17, and 25 percent at 18 or older
• Among adolescents ages 15 to 17 who had engaged in sexual intercourse, 42 percent reported one lifetime partner, 39 percent reported two to five lifetime partners, seven percent reported six to nine lifetime partners, and four percent reported 10 or more lifetime partners
• Among young adults ages 18 to 24 who had engaged in sexual intercourse, 20 percent reported one lifetime partner, 39 percent reported two to five lifetime partners, 13 percent reported six to nine lifetime partners, and 14 percent reported 10 or more lifetime partners

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT TEEN PREGNANCY: NEW STUDY ON ADOLESCENT SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy recently released Fourteen and Younger: The Sexual Behavior of Young Adolescents. This comprehensive report contains seven papers based on six different sets of data on young people (three national and three local). It sheds light on sexual relationships and activity among young teens. The report found:

Sexual Intercourse

• Approximately one in five adolescents has engaged in sexual intercourse before his or her fifteenth birthday
• Boys who are 14 and younger are slightly more likely to have had intercourse than girls of the same age
• A substantial proportion of teens who are 14 and younger who have had intercourse are not currently sexually active
• More than one in 10 girls who first had intercourse before age 15 describe it as non-voluntary and many more describe it as relatively unwanted

Contraceptive Use

• Between half and three-quarters of young people ages 12 to 14 who reported having had intercourse used contraception the first time they had sex
• Slightly more than half of girls ages 12 to 14 and about two-thirds of boys who reported having had intercourse say they used some form of contraception the most recent time they had sex

Oral Sex

• 36 percent of adolescents ages 15 to 17 (40 percent of males and 32 percent of females) reported having had oral sex
• 66 percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 (73 percent of males and 58 percent of females) reported having had oral sex
• 61 percent of White adolescents and young adults (ages 15 to 24), 41 percent of African- American adolescents and young adults, 47 percent of Latino adolescents and young adults, and 40 percent of Asian adolescents and young adults reported having had oral sex
• 82 percent of adolescents and young adults (ages 15 to 24) who had engaged in sexual intercourse reported having had oral sex as did 12 percent of adolescents and young adults who had not had sexual intercourse
• 24 percent of adolescents ages 15 to 17 (18 percent male and 33 percent female) reported having had oral sex to avoid having intercourse

Intimacy

• 56 percent of adolescents ages 15 to 17 (65 percent male and 47 percent female) reported having "been with someone in an intimate or sexual way (including but not limited to intercourse)"
• 85 percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 (87 percent male and 84 percent female) reported having "been with someone in an intimate or sexual way (including but not limited to intercourse)"
• 27 percent of adolescents and young adults (ages 15 to 24) who had not had sexual intercourse reported having "been with someone in an intimate or sexual way"

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING AND DOING?

In recent years, a lot of attention has been paid to the topic of young people and oral sex. The media suggests they are engaging in oral sex at an alarming rate. There is also speculation that they do not think oral sex is "sex" and that they view oral sex as a way to avoid the risk of pregnancy and STDs. Some adults have wondered whether the recent increased focus on "virginity" has led young people to seek behaviors other than vaginal intercourse. According to a recent analysis by The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "The reports in the press that oral sex has become widespread among adolescents cannot be confirmed or refuted because the data to do so have never been collected."

A few small surveys, have, however, provided us with some insight into how adolescents view oral sex. For example, one survey of 510 adolescent ages 12 to 17 found that 31 percent of female participants and 44 percent of male participants "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" that oral sex is not as big a deal as sexual intercourse. In another survey of 519 adolescents ages 12 to17, 21 percent considered oral sex to be "safe sex." In a third survey of 505 adolescents ages 12 to 17, 27 percent of participants reported oral sex as an activity that is "almost always" or "most of the time" part of a more serious dating relationship while 24 percent reported oral sex as an activity that is "almost always" or "most of the time" part of a casual relationship.