The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes that many young people engage in sexual risk behaviors that can result in unintended health outcomes. Sexual risk behaviors leave adolescents at risk for HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended pregnancy. Although the problem of risky sexual behavior among teens should be taken seriously, fortunately the problem may not be as serious as it is often thought to be among young teens. Kathleen Struck has reported on April 1, 2013, for MedPage Today, Young Teens Not Having Sex.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, sexual activity among younger teens is rare, and those teens having sex at 10 or younger are usually victims of coercion. And according to research published online in Pediatrics, among those born in the years from 1984 to 1993, only 1% of girls reported having sexual intercourse when they were 11 years old or younger. And only 2% of 12-year-olds and 5% of 13-year-olds reported having sexual intercourse. According to Lawrence B. Finer, PhD, and Jesse M. Philbin, BA, of the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights organization based in New York City, if children younger than 10 reported having sexual intercourse, it typically was coerced or
nonconsensual.
The authors have written, "Concerns about substantial levels of sexual activity among young adolescents are unfounded, and the pregnancy rate, indeed, the absolute number of pregnancies, among these girls is vanishingly small." The authors noted that sexual activity and pregnancy are rare among 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds, and sex in this age group is more likely to be nonconsensual.
The authors have stated, "This arguably represents a different public health issue than sex among older teens, who have a greater need for contraception." The authors have also written, "Teaching young adolescents about contraceptive methods and prescribing or offering methods before they are likely to become sexually active is prudent. No study of sex education programs to date has found evidence that providing young people with sexual and reproductive health information and education results in increased sexual risk-taking."
