More Proof that Teens Are Human

That headline sounds sarcastic but it isn’t meant to be. In fact this newest proof comes from an excellent fact sheet recently prepared by Child Trends an organization that only sounds like a creepy marketing company. They are, in fact an independent, nonpartisan research center that is focused on providing research and analysis to the people and institutions whose decisions and actions affect children. The fact sheet, which available for free online, was developed out of a paper published last year in the journal Demography called “Contraceptive Use Patterns Across Teens’ Sexual Relationships: The Role of Relationships, Partners, and Sexual Histories.”

The main take home message of the data is that teen sexual behavior, in this case specifically their use of contraceptives, is guided by things like the nature of the specific sexual relationships (described as romantic vs. casual) they’re having and the ways they’ve used contraception in the past. In other words, teens aren’t a roving hoard of unthinking hormonal reaction, they act in ways that make sense in the context of their own lives. Which isn’t to say that they are consistent in their sexual or contraceptive behavior. But neither are adults.

The study found characteristics that were associated with improved contraceptive use or consistency included:

• being older at the first sexual experience in the relationship
• being involved in a romantic versus a casual relationship
• experiencing a higher level of emotional intimacy in the relationship
• discussing contraception before having sex for the first time
• having a partner with whom one has much in common.

They also found that teens who used contraception consistently in past relationships were found to be more likely to continue to use contraception consistently in current and future relationships.

Other findings from the study were less clear but do a good job of pointing out the need for more research. For example:

Teens that were older when they first had sex with their partners were more likely to use contraception at least once, but were less likely to use contraception every time that they had sex.

Teens who were involved in romantic relationships (as opposed to “casual” relationships) were more likely to use contraception at least once, but were less likely to use contraception every time that they had sex.

Because of where the data came from there’s no way to dig deeper with these teens to learn more about why they would start out using contraception but use it less consistently in relationships that are “romantic” and in relationships where they were older at first sexual encounter.

One of the other important findings from the study was the simple fact that contraceptive use varied from one relationship to another. That is a teen might use contraception every time in one relationship but only sporadically in another. Obviously it would be great to learn more about what makes the difference for teens.

There was also a stat that’s worth noting for anyone obsessed with the supposed rampant victimization of teens online by adult predators. In this study 75 percent of teens reported that they had sexual partners who were the same age as themselves and 63 percent reported meeting their partner through school, a place of worship, their neighborhood, or through friends.

Read more - Child Trends Fact Sheet: Contraceptive Use Patterns Across Teens’ Sexual Relationships

Related - Teen Sex Statistics