Adolescent sexuality in the United States
[6] In 1999, a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 95% of public secondary schools offered sex education programs.
Other reasons included a fear of sexually transmitted infections, a lack of desire, being afraid of getting caught, and the belief that sex was not appropriate for someone of their age.
[26] Epidemiologists at the Center for Disease Control emphasize that for sex education to be effective, it should take place before teens become sexually active.
[26] Of the sexually experienced who are now practicing abstinence, girls were more likely than boys to say a lack of desire, fear of STDs, being afraid of getting caught, the belief that sex was not appropriate for someone their age, and their parents having taught them the advantages of waiting as reasons for making their decision.
[34] One in four American women who had sex during their teenage years will have a baby before they are married, compared to only one in ten of those who wait until they are older.
A study published in 1999 found that female adolescents who participated in sports were less likely than their non-athletic peers to engage in sexual activity and/or report a pregnancy.
[41] According to one study, laws that require parental notification or consent before a minor can obtain an abortion "raise the cost of risky sex for teenagers.
The researchers of the study believe these laws lower the gonorrhea rate because teens reduce the amount of sexual activity they have, and they are more fastidious in their use of birth control.
[17][45] Lloyd Kolbe, the director of the Center for Disease Control's Adolescent and School Health program, called the STI problem "a serious epidemic.
"[48] "Several studies have documented that oral sex can transmit certain STIs, including chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea and syphilis.
[50] In a 2011 study by the CDC, 7.1% of females and 2.1% of males aged 15–24 were infected with chlamydia,[53]: 65 historically the most prevalent of all STIs in the general population (after HPV).
[64] Sex therapists have found that the roots of sexual issues facing adults often date back to regretful teenage experiences.
[70] Girls who were intentionally hurt by a date in the past 12 months are at a "significantly elevated risk for a broad range of sexual health concerns and for pregnancy.
[82] That inconsistency in policies between states may lead to confusion and misinformation about what services a young person has a right to access and when there might be risks of parental notification or loss of confidentiality.
In all 50 states and in the District of Columbia, at least some minors (under the legal age of majority) are permitted to independently (without parental permission or input) consent to STI services.
However, in the US, the Affordable Care Act allows young people who are dependents on their parents' private health insurance plans to retain coverage until they are 26.
In some common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is sexual activity in which one person is below the age required to consent to the behavior legally.
Statutory rape laws are based on the premise that until a person reaches a certain age, he or she is legally incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse.
Some jurisdictions have passed so-called "Romeo and Juliet laws," which serve to reduce or eliminate the penalty of the crime in cases if the couple's age difference is minor, and the sexual contact would not have been rape if both partners were legally able to give consent.
[101] Research indicates that sexual messages contained in film, television, and music are becoming more explicit in dialog, lyrics, and behavior.
[102] Researchers have found a correlation between the amount of television with high sexual content that teenagers watch and an increased likelihood of them becoming pregnant or fathering a child out of wedlock.
Comprehensive sex education covers abstinence as a positive choice but also teaches about contraception use and the avoidance of STIs if the teen becomes sexually active.
A 2002 study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 58% of secondary school principals describe their sex education curriculum as comprehensive.
The majority of parents reject the so-called "comprehensive" sex education approach, which focuses on promoting and demonstrating contraceptive use.
Their findings also support earlier studies that conclude:[12] It is equally encouraged by experts that included in the curriculum sex educators make mention of the fact that the CDC's research confirms that youths with HIV are the least likely age group to be aware of having the infection as they tend to have a suppressed viral load.
Some Christian organizations advocate abstinence-only sex education because it is the only approach they find acceptable and in accordance with their churches' teachings.
They maintain that curricula should promote conventional (or conservative) morality as healthy and constructive and that value-free knowledge of the body may lead to immoral, unhealthy, and harmful practices.
In sum, studies of abstinence programs have not produced sufficient evidence to justify their widespread dissemination.Most teens (70%) say they have gotten some or a lot of information about sex and sexual relationships from their parents.
[122] They also found that responsible sexual behavior among adolescent females was associated with positive father-daughter communication regarding men, dating, sex, and marriage.
On the other hand, fathers who were absent had been linked to higher rates of sexual activity and teen pregnancy among female adolescents.
