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<title>Jay's World of Abstracts 00032: 14 and Younger: The Sexual Behavior of Young Adolescents
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content="An abstract on recent research on young adolescent sexual behavior from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.">
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<h2 align="right">Jay's World of Abstracts 00032</h2><hr>
<div align="center"><h1>14 and Younger:</h1>
The Sexual Behavior of Young Adolescents<br>
the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy</div>
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<i>[Standard disclaimer: The nature of abstracts are that they are pieces of something larger. Not everyone is going to be happy with my choice of abstracts from any larger work, so if you are dissatisfied, I would refer you to the original document, which should be able to be found on the Internet. I encourage others to make their own abstracts to satisfy their needs. I would be happy to publish them here.</i>
<h3>Jay's Introduction</h3>
<p>In the discussion of teen pregnancy, we commonly only really talk about teens who are 15 years old or older, probably because this is the point at which statistics start being kept on fertility. Now, there are a few studies, mentioned here, that looked a bit deeper and got some data that addressed the sexual activities of pre-teens. I didn't find anything particularly new here, but it certainly strenthened my resolve to try to do something positive in this arena.</p>
<i>I produced this abstract using time paid for by the Quay County Maternal Child and Community Health Council with funds from the New Mexico Department of Health.</i>
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<h3>Abstracts</h3>
<h2>Results in a Page</h2>
<ul>
<li>Sexual Experience
<ul>
<li>Approximately one in five adolescents has had sexual intercourse
before his or her 15th birthday.
<li>Boys age 14 and younger are slightly more likely to have had sex
than girls the same age.
</ul>
<li>Frequency of Sex
<ul>
<li>A substantial proportion of teens age 14 and younger who have
had sex are not currently sexually active.
<li>According to one of the national surveys (NLSY), approximately
half of sexually experienced 14-year-olds have had sex 0-2 times
in the past 12 months.
</ul>
<li>Contraceptive Use
<ul>
<li>Between half and three-quarters of youth age 12-14 report that
they used contraception the first time they had sex.
<li>Slightly more than half of girls age 12-14 and about two thirds of
boys say they used some form of contraception the most recent
time they had sex.
</ul>
<li>Pregnancy
<ul>
<li>Approximately one in seven sexually experienced 14-year-old
girls reports having been pregnant.
</ul>
<li>Dating
<ul>
<li>A significant proportion of those age 12-14 report having been
on a date (two-fifths in the NLSY survey) or having a romantic
relationship in the past 18 months (half in Add Health).
<li>Significant minorities of youth age 14 and under report a
romantic relationship with someone three or more years older
(girls far more than boys).
<li>Relationships with a significantly older partner -- compared
with those with someone only slightly older, the same age, or
younger -- are much more likely to be sexual.
</ul>
<li>Pressure
<ul>
<li>More than one in ten girls who first have had sex before age
15 describe it as non-voluntary and many more describe it as
relatively unwanted.
</ul>
<li>Other Risky Behavior
<ul>
<li>Sexually experienced youth age 14 and younger are much
more likely to smoke, use drugs and alcohol, and participate in
delinquent activities than youth who have not had sex.
</ul>
<li>Parents
<ul>
<li>In general, parents report talking a moderate amount with their
children age 12-14 about sex and related issues, although their
children recall less communication than the parents claim.
<li>Parents are more likely to have spoken with their daughters than
with their sons about sex and related issues.
<li>Parents tend to be unaware of what their children are actually
doing sexually -- only about a third
of parents of sexually experienced 14-year-olds know that their
child has had sex.
</ul>
</ul>
<table border=1>
<caption>Proportion of Teens Who Have Had Sex at Age 14 and Younger, 3 Nationally-Representative Data Sets</caption>
<thead><tr><th></th><th>Male</th><th>Female</th><th>Total</th></tr></thead>
<tbody align="center"><tr><th>NLSY ('97)</th><td>22%</td><td>17%</td><td>19%</td></tr>
<tr><th>Add Health ('94-'96)</th><td>20%</td><td>14%</td><td>18%</td></tr>
<tr><th>NSFG ('95)</th><td>-</td><td>20%</td><td>-</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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