My final article about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Survey on Family Growth focuses on teens’ behavior and attitudes about sexual activity.
First – despite the fact that we are now very used to seeing and hearing sexually charged images or references in the mainstream media, teens’ attitudes about sex have changed relatively little in the past decade. While some people may complain that the prevalence of sexual material in our entertainment industry is dangerous for inquiring, young minds, there is no proof this is the case. In fact, the most notable changes in teens’ attitudes toward sexual activity have nothing to do with topics people normally associate with a sexually over-charged media-- age at which first sex is appropriate, acceptable number of partners, use of contraception, etc.
The main attitude shift shown in the survey was related to the reasons teens gave for practicing abstinence. In 2002, both males and females aged 15-19 ranked their top reasons for not having sex as:
1. It went against their morals
2. They didn’t want to get (a female) pregnant
3. They hadn’t found the right person yet
While females’ ranking did not change in the 2006-2008 survey, their male counterparts no longer felt as strongly that pregnancy prevention was a reason to abstain. In the most recent survey, only 12 percent of males said they were not having sex because they didn’t want to get a female pregnant, while 36 percent reported that they were waiting until they found the right person. Perhaps this indicates a heightened interest among young men in finding “love” or being part of a committed relationship, and perhaps this indicates a belief among young men that pregnancy and/or childbirth is something only the female should deal with. Or something else completely! What do you think?
These changes in attitudes towards sex are interesting, but I believe the most surprising and terrifying statistic in this section of study pertains to teens’ attitudes towards their first-sex experience. According to the NSFG, among females aged 18-24 whose first sexual experience was before age 20, 10 percent “really didn’t want it to happen at the time” and 47 percent of the women had “mixed feelings” about whether they wanted it to happen. This means that just under half of all they young women who were surveyed for this study were possibly pressured to have sex before they were truly ready or willing to do so. Appalling.
Rape, sexual assault and harassment take many forms. They are not necessarily violent or dramatic, and much more often than not, they are performed by someone the victim knows. Although we are used to seeing sex and sensuality in television shows and we are sensitized to hearing reports of rape or assault in the news, we are still oblivious to, or willing to ignore, the horrifyingly high instance of sexual assault in our nation. If half of young women who engage in sex before the age of 20 feel threatened or uncomfortable with the situation, it is clear we are doing something very wrong. While I do not have space in this article to give the huge topic of sexual violence the attention it deserves, April is Sexual Assault Awareness month and you can definitely expect to read more in upcoming posts.
The numbers reported by the NSFG are only a brief indication of recent sexual and reproductive health trends in the United States, but with analysis, we can use them to predict future needs and prevent negative outcomes. The more initiative we as individuals take to be cognizant of our social surroundings, the more possible it is for positive change to occur. Do some of your own research and please comment below with your findings!