More US teens postponing sex: study

May 3, 2012 in Health

More US teenagers are postponing sex than in 1995, and hormonal contraceptive use is up among those who are sexually active, said US health authorities on Thursday.

However, disparities in safe sex practices remain, with white teenagers more likely to regularly use contraception than African-Americans or Hispanics, said the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data came from the National Survey of Family Growth collected for 1995, 2002, and the period of 2006-2010, described as a nationally representative survey.

Over the period 2006-2010, 57 percent of teenage girls aged 15-19 years had never had vaginal intercourse, an increase from 49 percent in 1995, said the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report.

"The proportion of female teens who never have had sex is now comparable across racial/ethnic groups," it said.

About 60 percent of sexually experienced teens said they were currently using hormonal birth control such as the Pill, the intrauterine device (IUD) or injections, an increase from 47 percent in 1995.

Such contraceptive use was highest among whites (66 percent) and lowest among blacks (46 percent). Among sexually active Hispanic teenagers, 54 percent reported using a hormonal birth control method.

Condoms were deemed a moderately effective birth control method and were second in popularity among sexually active teenagers, having fallen steadily since 1995.

However, during 2006-2010 period, "only about half (49 percent) of female teens who used a condom for contraception reported consistent use in the past month," the CDC said.

About 20 percent of teens having sex reported using no method of birth control at all, a level that has remained about the same since 1995.

Separate studies have shown that the US teen birth rate -- in 2010 it was 34 births per 1,000 females -- is in steep decline, down 44 percent from 1990 to its lowest level in seven decades.

About 368,000 babies were born to US teenagers in 2010.

However, the CDC warned that the US teen birth rate remains higher than in other developed countries, and urged communities to provide sex education and connect teenagers to reproductive health services.

(c) 2012 AFP

4 /5 (1 vote)  

Rank 4 /5 (1 vote)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Driving and hands-free talking lead to spike in errors, study shows

Talking on a hands-free device while behind the wheel can lead to a sharp increase in errors that could imperil other drivers on the road, according to new research from the University of Alberta.

Health created 11 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

About one in four uninsured could be excluded from ACA

(HealthDay)—More than one in four of those eligible for new premium assistance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) do not have a checking account and will not be able to receive premiums from ...

Health created 13 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Audiologists recommend smart phone apps to monitor noise levels

After studying noise in one French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans to determine whether or not noise levels exceeded municipal ordinances, Annette Hurley, PhD, Assistant Professor of Audiology at LSU Health Sciences Center ...

Health created 14 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Young children who miss well-child visits are more likely to be hospitalized

Young children who missed more than half of recommended well-child visits had up to twice the risk of hospitalization compared to children who attended most of their visits, according to a study published today in the American Jo ...

Health created 14 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Do doctors understand the individualisation of treatments?

The individualisation of drug treatments to support patients to self-manage their conditions is a concept that sits at the heart of policy, but a recent study in BMJ Open shows that there is no concrete defini ...

Health created 17 hours ago | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0


Engineered cytomegalovirus protects monkeys from HIV equivalent

(Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys ...

Researchers identify first drug targets in childhood genetic tumor disorder

Two mutations central to the development of infantile myofibromatosis (IM)—a disorder characterized by multiple tumors involving the skin, bone, and soft tissue—may provide new therapeutic targets, according to researchers ...

Hormone levels may provide key to understanding psychological disorders in women

Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences, according to a study from UCL.

Going live: Immune cell activation in multiple sclerosis

Biological processes are generally based on events at the molecular and cellular level. To understand what happens in the course of infections, diseases or normal bodily functions, scientists would need to ...

Help at hand for people with schizophrenia

How can healthy people who hear voices help schizophrenics? Finding the answer for this is at the centre of research conducted at the University of Bergen.

Alzheimer's disease, the soft target of the euthanasia debate

(Medical Xpress)—The way Alzheimer's disease is portrayed by advocacy groups and the media is having undue influence on the euthanasia debate, according to a Deakin University nursing ethics professor.