Fewer Teens Engaging in Risky Sexual Behavior, CDC Says
Fewer U.S. high school students are having sex, and the ones who do are less likely to have multiple partners, according to a report issued Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a 2005 survey, 46.8% of students said they engaged in sexual intercourse, down from 54.1% in 1991, according to the report.
And 14.3% of students in 2005 said they had had multiple partners, defined as sex with four or more people. That figure is down from 18.7% in 1991.
The number of students who say they used a condom the last time they had intercourse rose to 62.8% in 2005 from 46.2% in 1991, the survey said.
The report was based on responses to anonymous, self-administered questionnaires in public and private schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveys.
One aim was to determine the extent to which U.S. high school students, generally ages 15 to 18, were at risk for HIV and other behavior-related illnesses.
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