Fewer teens are having sex, and the rate is declining among boys, though young adults are increasingly using contraception, according to a federal report released Thursday.
Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth from 2015 to 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that 38.7% of boys and 40.5% of girls aged 15 to 19 had heterosexual, vaginal sex before marriage.
According to researchers, the percentage of sexually active boys has decreased since 2015, when 44% reported having sex. Girls’ sexual activity has become more consistent over time, though overall numbers have decreased in 2019. In 2002, 45.5% of females reported having sex.
According to the researchers, nearly four out of five teenage girls used contraception in their first intimate heterosexual encounter. Contraception was used by more than 90% of teenage boys during their first sexual encounter with a female, up from just over 80% in 2002.
Study provided insight on sexual activity, contraception, and pregnancy risks, raising concerns
The report was based on interviews with over 21,000 men and women, including over 3,800 teenage boys and girls. According to the researchers, the study aimed to provide information on sexual activity, contraception, and childbearing experience in order to better understand the risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The most recent findings indicate a lower risk of STIs and pregnancy, but concerns remain. For example, approximately 874,000 adolescent girls reported using no contraception for the first time they had sex with a male.
Here are the top reasons teenagers gave for not having sex:
- Among girls, 32.5% said it was “against religion or morals”; 25.3% said they hadn’t “found the right person yet”; and 15.9% said, they didn’t “want to get pregnant.”
- Among boys, 35.3% said they hadn’t “found the right person yet”; 26.2% said sex was “against religion or morals”; and 11.1% said they did not “want to get a female pregnant.”
- Teenagers were least likely to choose “Don’t want to get a sexually transmitted disease” as their primary reason for abstaining from sex.
Teenagers were the least likely to give “don’t want to get a sexually transmitted disease” as their primary reason for not having sex.
Sexual activity differed according to race and ethnicity. Just under 45% of Black adolescent boys and 46.4% of Hispanic adolescent boys reported having sex, compared to one-third of non-Hispanic white adolescent boys. Researchers found that 49.5% of Black teenage girls, 37.7% of Hispanic teenage girls, and 40.1% of white teenage girls had sex, though the difference between Black and white teenagers was not statistically significant.
Teen contraception trends: Increased use of long-acting contraceptives, mixed condom results
The report also distinguished between different types of contraception. The use of long-acting reversible contraceptives, such as intrauterine devices, IUDs, and implants, among teenage girls increased from 5.8% between 2011 and 2015 to 19.2% between 2015 and 2019. Boys, on the other hand, showed a slight decrease in condom use, despite increases in contraceptive pills, other hormonal methods, and dual methods.
Emergency contraception pills, also known as the “morning after pill” or Plan B-branded pills, were also more popular among sexually active adolescent girls.
Although the report focused on opposite-sex vaginal intercourse, researchers stated that national survey data had been used to investigate other sexual activities that carry STI risks.