New Survey Released in Advance of The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
5/1/2012
(Washington, DC) -- Teens say parents most influence their decisions about sex and 87% say it would be
much easier for them to postpone sex and avoid teen pregnancy if they were able
to have more open, honest conversations about these topics with their parents,
according to a new survey from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy.
Other results from the telephone survey of 1,002 young
people age 12-19 and 1,032 adults age 20 and older include:
-
Fully 42% of young people
age 12-19 agree with the statement: "It doesn?t matter whether you use
birth control or not, when it is your time to get pregnant, it will
happen."
-
Even though most teens age
12-19 (86%) say they have all the information they need to avoid an
unplanned pregnancy, 66% say they know "little or nothing" about male
condoms and how to use them (including 36% of those age 15-19).
-
55% of sexually
experienced young people age 15-19 (including 67% of teen girls 15-19) say
they wish they had waited longer before having sex.
-
77% of teens age 12-19 who
have seen MTV's popular 16 and
Pregnant and Teen Mom programs
say the shows ?help teens better understand the challenges of pregnancy
and parenting."
-
74% of adults wish teens
were getting more information about both abstinence and contraception rather
than either/or.
-
Similarly, 65% of adults
think federally funded programs designed to prevent teen pregnancy should
emphasize messages encouraging teens to postpone sex and providing them with information about contraception.
Results from the new survey are being released in
conjunction with the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. On the National
Day, May 2, and throughout the month of May, hundreds of thousands of teens
nationwide are expected to participate in the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The purpose of the National Day is to focus the attention of teens on the
importance of avoiding too-early pregnancy and parenthood through an interactive
online quiz and game.
On the National Day, teens nationwide are
encouraged to visit StayTeen.org to participate in several
online activities -- including the popular National Day Quiz -- that challenge them
to think carefully about what they might do "in the moment."
"Teen pregnancy and birth rates are
at record lows, but now is not the time to let up on the gas," cautions Sarah
Brown, Chief Executive Officer of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy, organizer of the National Day."It is still the case that nearly three in 10
teen girls in this country become pregnant before age 20 and that the U.S. still
has the highest teen pregnancy rate among comparable countries.We hope that -- in
some modest way -- the National Day will help teens think carefully about sex,
relationships, contraception, the possibility of pregnancy, and the lifelong
challenges of being a parent."
Visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org
for more information about the survey,including methodology.
Support for the
National Day: The National Day has widespread support from a diverse group
of more than 200 media outlets, teen websites, health sector leaders, education
leaders, businesses, youth-serving groups, groups representing elected
officials, fatherhood and male involvement groups, faith-based groups, and other
prominent national organizations. Visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org/national
to get more information and to find out what Campaign media partners MTV, Fox
Broadcasting Co., TeenNick, Tr3s, Telemundo, Seventeen, and others will be doing to encourage their audiences to
take the quiz and get involved in the National Day.
Download a PDF of this release.
About The National
Campaign: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative supported almost entirely by private
donations. Our mission is to promote values, behavior, and policies that reduce
both teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy among young adults. By increasing the proportion of children born
into welcoming, intact families who are prepared to take on the demanding task
of raising the next generation, our efforts will improve the well-being of
children and strengthen the nation. Please visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org to
find out more.
###
