Data Show Decline in Teen Sex, Rise in Contraceptive Use

WASHINGTON —  Fewer teens are engaging in sexual activity than in the past, and those that do are more likely to use contraceptives, the government said Friday.

The National Center for Health Statistics said that for girls ages 15 to 17 the percentage who had ever had intercourse declined from 38% in 1995 to 30% in 2002. For boys, the agency said, the decline was from 43% to 31%.

“There is much good news in these results,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said in a statement. “More teenagers are avoiding or postponing sexual activity, which can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy or emotional and societal responsibilities for which they are not prepared.”

In addition, the agency said that when teens did have intercourse, 79% reported using contraception in 1991 to 2002 compared with 61% in the 1980s. The agency said the increase in contraception was consistent with a decline in teen pregnancy.

The report was based on data collected by the center, a part of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth and the previous survey conducted in 1995.

Though there was a drop in sexual activity at ages 15 to 17, the share of never-married females ages 18 and 19 who had ever had intercourse was 69% in 2002, up from 68% in 1995. By contrast, for 18- and 19-year-old males the share dropped from 75% in 1995 to 64% in 2002.

Teen girls’ first sexual partners are most commonly boys one to three years older than they are, usually a steady boyfriend, the report said.

In a separate report, the agency said that for women ages 15 to 44, the leading methods of contraception in the United States in 2002 were the oral contraceptive pill, 11.7 million women; female sterilization, 10.3 million; the male condom, 6.9 million; male sterilization, 3.5 million, and the Depo-Provera injectable, 2 million.

“The news is almost all positive,” Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, told the Washington Post. “This data clearly underscores teens are being a bit more cautious about sex. This is a real sea change.”

The data come amid debate over abstinence-only education.