Almost half (48%) of high school teens say they have had sex—an increase of 2% between 2005 and 2007, according to data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the same time period, the proportion of high school teens who say they used a condom the last time they had sex decreased 2%.
The new data is from the CDC’s 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. The survey is administered every two years to about 14,000 high school students nationwide and contains information on high school students’ sexual behavior, drug and alcohol use, and other measures.
Perhaps the more interesting trend is the difference between what happened in the 1990s and what has happened in the 2000s regarding teen sexual behavior. During the 1990s, almost every measure of teen sexual activity was declining. During this decade, however, sexual activity has increased and the increase in the proportion of teens who say they used a condom the last time they had sex has slowed down considerably.
- Click here to read the full YRBS survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Click here for the National Campaign's Fast Facts on the YRBS survey.
We welcome your ideas about both underlying explanations for this data as well as steps The National Campaign should take regarding this and other topics related to teen and unplanned pregnancy. Please feel free to get in touch with us by sending your ideas in an email to communications@thenc.org.