Opinion Piece Says Reports Misleading, Today's Teenagers Engage In Fewer Risky Sexual Behaviors

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 28 Jan 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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"Parents have worried for generations about changing moral values and risky behavior among young people," New York Times columnist Tara Parker-Pope writes in an opinion piece, adding that a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics indicating an increase in teen birth rates for the first time in 10 years "seems particularly worrisome." According to Parker-Pope, the report is "troubling, but it's also misleading" because "a vast majority" of young people today are not engaging in risky sexual behavior. She continues that "in many ways, today's teenagers are more conservative about sex than previous generations."

Parker-Pope cites data from the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey finding that 47.8% of high school students in 2007 reported having had sex, compared with 54.1% of students in 1991. In addition, a 2002 HHS report found that 30% of girls ages 15 to 17 had engaged in sex, down from 38% in 1995, Parker-Pope writes. She adds that the percentage of sexually experienced boys in the same age group decreased to 31% from 43% during the same time period. Rates also declined among younger teens during those years, Parker-Pope writes, adding that 13% of girls and 15% of boys in 2002 reported engaging in sex before age 15, compared with 20% of young teens in 1995.

According to Parker-Pope, "one reason" why adults might believe that sexual risk behaviors are increasing among today's teenagers is because "the system of dating and relationships has changed significantly." Although dating was "planned and structured" in previous generations, in recent years, "that pattern has largely been replaced by casual gatherings" where teenagers might "fool around," Parker-Pope writes. She adds that today's teens might be more likely than previous generations to engage in oral sex, which some view as "'safer,' since unplanned pregnancy is not an issue."

The reported rise in teen birth rates is "cause for concern;" however, "it very likely reflects changing patterns in contraceptive use rather than a major change in sexual behavior," Parker-Pope writes. She continues that the "reality" is that teenage childbearing rates have declined since the late 1950s and "aren't explained by the increasing availability of abortions" because "abortion rates have also dropped." Parker-Pope writes that health researchers believe that "parents who fret about teenage sex often fail to focus on the more important lessons they can learn from the kids who aren't having sex," adding that teens with "more parental supervision, who come from two-parent households and who are doing well in school are more likely to delay sex until their late teens or beyond." Parker-Pope concludes that despite "clear" data, "it is often hard to convince adults that most teenagers have healthy attitudes about sex" (Parker-Pope, New York Times, 1/27).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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