Understanding Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Statistics and Prevention

Sex is always a hot topic regarding the behavior of high school students. This is actually the peak of adolescence stage in teens. Since the 1970s, the consequences of early sexual relationship in high school students have been increasing in the United States.

Sexually transmitted disease and early pregnancy are the common problems that sexually active teens may experience. Contrasting from the older statistics, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated 34 percent of high school students had sexual intercourse during the previous 3 months (41 percent did not use a condom the last time they had sex) and 15 percent had multiple sexual partners during their life according to a survey done in 2013.

The results of the survey somehow show a link to teen pregnancy problem in the country which is still common. In 2013, it has recorded 273,105 babies that were born to women ages 15-19 as posted by TeenHelp page. But in the survey made just in the following year, it has shown that there was a decline in numbers. It has been reported by CDC that teen pregnancy in U.S. has declined to 12 percent in the same age bracket.

Even though there's a positive change in the numbers, high school students are still prone to sexual risk because this is the stage where they have a rapid development in emotional, behavioral and social aspects. During this stage, parents should be aware of the potential sexual risk. Parents should also try to gain some control and have proper discipline over their teenagers.

A solution was provided by the government health agencies which was implemented in 2010 called Teen Pregnancy Prevention program. It played a big role in answering to the problem. The efforts of the U.S. government in answering to this issue is a big step in reducing and preventing teen pregnancies but still, to make this program a complete success, the guidance and support of the parents should still be the first in line.