Some Facts About Teens and Sex

You and your son or daughter may be surprised to know that most high school students have not had sexual intercourse. That's right, 53% of all high school students have not had sexual intercourse. And it's not much different for boys and girls. That 53% breaks down to 54% of high school girls and 52% of high school boys. 53

Teens who have sex are at high risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Nearly one out of every three (31%) teen girls who have had sexual experience have been pregnant while still teens. 54 More then one out of every eight (13%) teen boys who have had sexual experience have gotten a girl pregnant while still teens. ⁵⁵ And teens and young adults who have sex get one out of every two (50%) new STD infections each year. ⁵⁶

The younger a teen starts having sex, the greater the risk of pregnancy. Of girls who first have sex before age 15, almost half of them will get pregnant. Girls who have had three or more sexual partners are more likely to get pregnant, as well. 57 Plus, the more sexual partners a person has over time, the more likely he or she is to get an STD. One out of seven (14%) high school students report having had sex with four or more partners. ⁵⁸

There's another fact about sex you should know - and that's that oral sex is now more common than sexual intercourse among teenagers. 59 More than half of teen boys (55%) and teen girls (54%) have engaged in oral sex. ⁶⁰ Lots of teens who have not had sexual intercourse have had oral sex - almost one in four teens who have not had sexual intercourse report having oral sex. ⁶¹ Many teens think that if they have oral sex - but not sexual intercourse - they can't catch an STD. This isn't true. Many STDs can be spread through oral sex.

Last revised: August 10, 2009