Teenage Sex: Boys Using More Condoms Before Marriage, CDC Says
Teenage boys are not having less sex before marriage, but they are having less unprotected sex, with 85 percent of male teenagers using condoms during their first time, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC report, which collected data from 2006 to 2010, says that with 8 out of 10 teenagers using condoms, there has been a 9 percent increase since 2002, the last time a similar study took place. Although condoms are becoming more common, that does not mean promiscuity has increased. According to the report, sexual activity among teenagers has remained the same over the last 9 years. "The two determinants of pregnancy – sexual activity and contraceptive use – remained stable among teenagers from 2002 through 2006–2010 overall," the report said.
"Specifically, the percentage of never-married male and female teenagers who were sexually experienced, the percentage having had sex recently, and the percentage using a method of contraception at first and at last intercourse, remained unchanged from 2002 through 2006–2010," according to the CDC's findings.
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Female teenagers are also using contraceptives more often and in more variations. There was "a significant increase in the percent of female teenagers who used hormonal methods other than the pill, such as injectables and the contraceptive patch, at first sex," the report said. "Six percent of teen females used a non–pill hormonal method at first sex in the latest survey compared to 2 percent in 2002."
In addition, there has been an increase in the “doubling up” of contraceptives, with both males and females use a contraceptive of some sort during sex.
Although teen pregnancy is down, the report says, there is still a stark difference between different race groups. According to the report, "Non- Hispanic black males have the highest percentages who are sexually experienced, and Hispanic males have the highest percentages using no contraceptive method at last sex."
