New Survey on Teen Sex
By Shae, October 2005
Americans have a surplus of opinions about teenage sexuality. What they don’t have is cold hard facts. Every attempt to gather such information, such as Alfred Kinsey’s famous sex surveys in the 40’s ad 50’s, and University of Chicago’s in 1994, has been methodologically flawed and doesn’t fully cover the issue of teen sex.
That is why the new report issued last week by the National Center for Health Statistics is so important. “This study is truly representative,” says Claire Brindis, a professor of pediatric health policy at the University of California in San Francisco.
The survey is massive, covering 12,571 Americans. Some of the shocking findings included:
- More than 54% of kids ages 15 to 19 say they have engaged in oral sex at least once
- 10.6% of teen girls say they have had same-sex partners
- 4.5% of teen boys say they have had same-sex partners
- A surprising 11% of girls 15 to 19 say they have had at least one same-sex encounter—the same percentage that was found in women 18 to 44.
At this point, it is difficult to pinpoint the specific reason for these findings. What can be identified is the need for awareness. Parents need to know what their children are doing. Parents and teens need to be aware of the health consequences involved with oral sex. Oral sex carries plenty of health related dangers including Syphilis, Gonorrhea and Herpes, as well as Papilloma Virus.
Talk to your teen and find out what is going on. Let your teen know how you feel about sex. Your teen will never know how you feel about it until you tell them.
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