UK Teen Sex Study Tells Half the Story

A recent UK study of 3000 London teens aged 15-18 reveals many gaps in knowledge about sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases. As reported in the Guardian, the study results included:

• 39 per cent had sex for the first time when one or other partner was not equally willing
• Almost three in 10 lost their virginity for 'negative reasons', such as wanting to please a boyfriend
• 51 per cent of girls and 37 per cent of boys had had unprotected sex
• 58 per cent of girls and 39 per cent of boys had slept with someone at least once without using a condom
• Two in five wish they had waited longer before having sex
• Only 20 per cent who have sex for the first time take precautions, are in a steady relationship or feel the timing is right

The results are all similar to the little we know about North American teens knowledge about sexual health and hopefully studies like this one will provide more support for legislators who are pushing for comprehensive sexuality education. But they remain only part of the story.

Whenever the media report on teens and sex it feels as if they are reporting from another planet, and describing a different species. It's important for us to start looking at the connections between the sexual knowledge and behavior of teens and that of adults. Teen sexual knowledge and behavior is not only influenced by what they learn from the adults around them, but obviously it is important because they are soon to be the next generation of adults.

Yet there is almost no one working on these connections or in the area of transition from teen to adult sexual behavior.

Those who are disturbed by the number of teens who have unprotected sex, or have sex in order to please a partner, might want to consider the number of people over the age of 19 who are engaging in exactly the same kind of behaviors, and who have as little knowledge of sexual pleasure or sexually transmitted diseases as they did before they turned 20.

Read more - Guardian: What teens really think about sex

Previously - More of the Same on Teen Oral Sex Reporting; New Teen Sexual Encounters Study Finds Complicated Answers ; Sex Message to Parents: Teens Are Listening ; News Flash: Teens Still Having Sex