Title: A statistical portrait of adolescent sex, contraception, and childbearing.

POPLINE Document Number: 136291

Author(s):

Moore KA
Driscoll AK
Lindberg LD

Source citation:

Washington, D.C., National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 1998 Mar. 40 p.

Abstract:

This document presents data from two national surveys--one of females and one of males--highlighting on teen sex, contraceptive use, and childbearing. Data on teen girls are obtained from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth conducted with 1396 females aged 15-19. Data on teen boys, on the other hand, are from Urban Institute analyses of the 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males conducted with 1729 males aged 15-19. Findings reveal that early sexual activity is closely related to family structure. Teens from intact, two-parent families have lower probabilities of having sex at an early age than teens from other family backgrounds. Furthermore, maternal age at first birth and mother's educational attainment have a significant impact on the onset of sexual intercourse and childbearing. Among sexually experienced teenagers, 54% of males and 70% of females had one or no partners in the past year; yet, sexually experienced teenage boys have more partners than sexually experienced teenage girls. In addition, a significant increase in condom use was noted in the past 20 years. In 1975, only 18% of females used a condom at first sex in comparison with 54% of females in 1995. For those teenaged girls who have never had intercourse, their primary reason is that having sex would be against their religious or moral values. Other reason cited include desire to avoid pregnancy, fear of contracting sexually transmitted disease, and not having met the appropriate partner.

Keywords:

United States
Summary Report
Surveys
Adolescents
Adolescent Pregnancy
Sex Behavior
Attitude
Contraceptive Usage
Developed Countries
North America
Americas
Sampling Studies
Studies
Research Methodology
Youth
Age Factors
Population Characteristics
Demographic Factors
Population
Reproductive Behavior
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Behavior
Psychological Factors
Contraception
Family Planning