Guttmacher Study Challenges Perception Teens Substitute Oral Sex For Intercourse To Stay Virgins

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 21 May 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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Most teenagers who engage in oral sex also are having vaginal intercourse, according to a Guttmacher Institute report released Monday and scheduled to be published in the July issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, the Washington Post reports. The findings of the study -- which for the first time examined the issue of teen oral sex nationwide -- suggests that the "popular perception that teens are engaging in serial oral sex as a strategy to avoid vaginal intercourse" is a "misperception," Guttmacher researcher Rachel Jones said (Stein, Washington Post, 5/20).

For the study, Laura Lindberg of Guttmacher and colleagues analyzed the sexual practices of 2,271 teens ages 15 to 19 who participated in the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (Jayson, USA Today, 5/20). About 55% of the teens reported that they had engaged in oral sex, and slightly more than 50% reported that they had engaged in vaginal sex. About 87% of the teens who reported on a computerized questionnaire having vaginal sex also had oral sex, compared with 23% of those who said they never had intercourse.

In face-to-face interviews with teens who said they had vaginal sex in the previous six months, 82% also said they had oral sex, compared with 26% of teens who said they had never had intercourse. In addition, 92% of the teens who said they had intercourse for the first time more than three years earlier had engaged in oral sex, the report found. Jones said researchers were unable to determine whether teens had oral sex or intercourse first.

According to the Post, previous research suggested that more teens were having oral sex instead of intercourse; however, the reports were based on small samples or anecdotal accounts. Jones said that the study's finding that 67% of teens who had oral sex had only one partner is "another piece of evidence that there's not a lot of teens engaging in serial oral sex."

Comments

According to Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, "This study ... invalidates the suggestion that 'technical virgins' account for the rise in oral and anal sex." Huber added that the report suggests that more teens should be encouraged to delay all sexual activity. "The report reveals that teen sex, even with a condom, presents significant risk for future sexual experimentation and so underscores the need for redoubled emphasis on abstinence education," Huber said, adding, "Only abstinence education adequately addresses this problem."

Critics of abstinence-only education said the report reinforces the need for comprehensive sex education programs. "We can't afford the luxury of denial," James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said, adding that abstinence-only programs "are the embodiment of denial. They have been proven not to work, and it's time to invest in real sex education, including condoms."

According to the Post, some researchers applauded the study for providing "much-needed data in the often highly polarized debate over teenage sexuality." Claire Brindis, a professor of pediatrics and health policy at the University of California-San Francisco, said, "We have these images of oral sex parties, but it's not based on evidence," adding, "A study like this allows us to begin to dissect what actually is going on. It really helps to break both the positive and negative stereotypes" (Washington Post, 5/20).

The study is available online (.pdf).

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