The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have published a new brief of key findings from the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth pertaining to sex education in the U.S.
The good news? Nearly all American teens ages 15-19 (97 percent of males and 96 percent of females) are receiving at least some formal sex education, according to the survey. Most of them received information about sexually transmitted diseases (92 percent of males and 93 percent of females), how to prevent HIV/AIDS (89 percent of males, 88 percent of females), and how to say no to sex (81 percent of males, 87 percent of females).
The news gets worse when it comes to receiving formal education about birth control: Just 62 percent of males and 70 percent of females received this information. Or, to state it more powerfully, more than one third of all American teens are being left in the dark about how to prevent unplanned pregnancy when they become sexually active.
The researchers also found that more than two out of every 3 male teenagers and almost four out of every five female teenagers talked with a parent about at least one of six sex education topics, and that female teenagers were more likely than males to talk to their parents about "how to say no to sex," methods of birth control, and where to get birth control.
From the summary:
"Parental communication about sex education topics with their teenagers is associated with delayed sexual initiation and increased birth control method and condom use among sexually experienced teenagers. Although the impact of formal sex education on teenagers’ behavior is harder to assess and depends on its content, studies show it can be effective at reducing risk behaviors. These data show that the majority of male and female teenagers 15-19 years are receiving formal sex education on “how to say no to sex,” methods of birth control, STDs, and how to prevent HIV/AIDS. About one-half of teenagers reported first receiving instruction on “how to say no to sex,” STDs, and how to prevent HIV/AIDS while in middle school. Most teenagers have talked to their parents about at least one of the six sex education topics. Female teenagers are more likely than male teenagers to talk to their parents about “how to say no to sex,” methods of birth control, and where to get birth control. These findings for 2006-2008 suggest little change since 2002 in receipt of formal sex education or information from parents among teenagers. A recent report based on the 2006-2008 NSFG also found little change in teenagers’ sexual activity and contraceptive use since the 2002 NSFG."
For a .pdf of the full report, click here:
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