Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc.; Thursday September 17, 1998
Mike Cooper
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the percentage of sexually experienced students in grades 9 through 12 decreased from 54.1 percent in 1991 to 48.4 percent in 1997, an 11 percent decline.
Condom use among students who said they had sex during the past three months rose 23 percent, from 46.2 percent of students in 1991 to 56.8 percent in 1997. Researchers said the decline in adolescent sexual activity followed two decades of increases.
"In the 1970s and 1980s, we saw roughly a doubling of the percentage of kids who engaged in sexual intercourse," said Lloyd Kolbe of the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
The percentage of high school students who reported in 1997 that they had ever had sexual intercourse ranged from 38 percent in grade 9 to 60.9 percent in grade 12. In 1991, the figures were 39 percent for grade 9 and 66.7 percent for grade 12.
The percentage of males who had ever had sexual intercourse decreased from 57.4 percent in 1991 to 48.8 percent in 1997. Among females, the percentage dropped slightly, from 50.8 percent in 1991 to 47.7 percent in 1997.
The decline was 13 percent among white students and 11 percent among blacks. No significant decline was seen among Hispanic students.
The percentage of male students who said they'd already had four or more sex partners declined 25 percent between 1991 and 1997, from 23.4 percent to 17.6 percent.
Kolbe said the declines in sexual activity during the 1990s are being reflected in other areas.
"We're seeing important decreases in the percentage of young people who are infected with gonorrhea and we're also seeing decreases in the percentage of young people who are becoming pregnant," he said.
Despite the improvements, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion director Dr. James Marks said more needs to be done to address pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection.
"Half of all HIV infections in the U.S. occur among young people under age 25 and HIV infection is the sixth leading cause of death among 15- to 25-year-olds," Marks said.
The CDC survey was based on interviews with more than 50,000 students between 1991 and 1997. The overall margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percent for 1991 figures and 3.1 percent for 1997 figures.
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