Facts

• More than half of all teenagers aged 15-19 has engaged in oral sex. 55 percent of boys and 54 percent of girls have given or received oral sex, while 49 percent of boys and 53 percent of girls have had intercourse. (Tamar Lewin, Nationwide Survey Includes data on Teenage Sex Habits, NYT, 9/16/2005)
• About one in five ninth graders report having oral sex and almost one third said they intend to try it during the next six months, a small study of teens at two California schools report. (Teens say oral sex not really sex, AP, 4/4/2005)
• CDC researchers have found that 2.2 percent of U.S. adults aged 14-39 had Chlamydia. Nearly 1 in 20 women aged 14-19, 4.6 percent, were infected. In 2003, 877,478 cases were reported in the U.S, making it the most commonly reported STD, the CDC said. (High rate of Chlamydia found among U.S. teens, Reuters, 8/29/2005)
• 65 million people in the U.S. have incurable STDs. At least 1 in 4 Americans will contract a STD in their lifetime. Teenagers make up one fourth of all new STD infections. Herpes is the most common STD in the U.S., affecting 45 million people. Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B are the only vaccine treatable STDs. (Under protected form STDs, CDC, 2003)
• More than half of all people will have an STD at some point in their lifetime (www.ashastd.org, American Social Health Association, 12/18/2005)
• More than $8 billion is spent each year to diagnose and treat STDs and their complications. This figure does not include HIV. (www.ashastd.org, American Social Health Association, 12/18/2005)
• About half of all new STDs in 2000 occurred among youth ages 15 to 24. (www.ashastd.org, American Social Health Association, 12/18/2005)
• It is estimated that as many as one in four Americans have genital herpes, yet up to 90 percent of those with herpes are unaware they have it. (www.ashastd.org, American Social Health Association, 12/18/2005)
• Consistent condom use provides substantial protection against the acquisition of many STDs, including statistically significant reduction of risk against HIV, Chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis. (www.ashastd.org, American Social Health Association, 12/18/2005)

Did you know?

• The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate and infant mortality rate of all developed countries
• Approximately 1 million teenagers every year become pregnant. Up to 95 % of those pregnancies were unplanned and unwanted.
• 33 out of 100 teen pregnancies end in abortion with white females opting for abortions far more frequently than African American or Hispanic females
• 13 out of 100 babies born in the U.S. annually are born to teenaged parents
• Some states are beginning to collect child support from the parents of non-custodial teenagers who produce children prior to becoming an adult.
• More then three out of ten teenaged mothers do not receive adequate prenatal care.
• Babies born to teenaged mothers are more likely to be born with low-birth weight, to have childhood health problems and to be hospitalized. Furthermore, children of teenaged mothers are at risk for having lower intellect and academic abilities, and are more likely to have significant behavioral problems.
• Currently, there are 29 states with mandatory parental involvement laws for minors seeking an abortion.
• 3 out of 10 teenaged mothers do not complete high school. The ones who do complete high school are less likely to go to college than non-teen mothers
• Teenage pregnancy rates are directly related to the income and education level of the teenager's family. Almost half of the girls living in poverty will become pregnant before becoming an adult.
• It is estimated that at least three out of ten teenagers do not use contraception every time they have sex
• For every sexually active teenager, one in four will get an STD within one year.
• In only one act of unprotected sex, a teenaged girl has a 1% chance of getting HIV, a 30% chance of getting genital herpes, and a 50% chance of getting gonorrhea.
• Most people are more comfortable having sex than they are talking about it.