Teens

When you fall in love, it's natural to want to express your love in physical ways.

While the proportion of unmarried teen girls age 15-19 who have had sexual intercourse decreased between 1988 and 1995, the proportion of unmarried teen girls who have had sexual intercourse at 14 and younger increased appreciably during the same time period (Terry & Manlove, 2000).

90,000 students in grades 7 through 12 attending 145 schools around the United States answered brief questionnaires about their lives, including their health, friendships, self-esteem, and expectations for the future.

Status of America’s Schools.

No one expects every teen to wait until marriage before having sex.

A Comprehensive Review of Recent Research

According to a recent study published in Pediatrics, highly depressed girls are 50% more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, and highly depressed teen boys are 70% more likely to do so.

Dr. Meeker, author of the new book ‘Epidemic’: ‘In 2003 we are living in the midst of a public health epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases amongst 12- to 18-year-old children, and an epidemic of depression related to much of the promiscuous sexual activity amongst our youth.

Data about teens’ sexual experiences other than intercourse are more limited.

In an ’04 Senate subcommittee hearing, Dr. Elizabeth Shadigan testified abortion increases the rates of breast cancer, placenta previa, pre-term births, and maternal suicide.

The more sexually active friends a teen has and the more time a teen spends with a boyfriend or girlfriend, the greater the risk that teen will smoke, drink, get drunk or use illegal drugs, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse IX: Teen Dating Practices and Sexual Activity, an annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA*) at Columbia University.