Facts on Abstinence

• NOT everybody is doing it. The percentage of high school males who have ever had sex declined from 57% in 1991 to 48% in 2005. The proportion of high school girls who reported having sex decreased from 51% in 1991 to 46% in 2005.1
   

• Teens do not think it is embarrassing to say they are virgins. The vast majority of teens (73%) surveyed recently do not think it is embarrassing for teens to say they are virgins.2
   

• Most teens who have had sex wish they had waited. Sixty-seven percent of teens surveyed who have had sexual intercourse wish they had waited longer. Of those who have had sex, more than one-half of teen boys (60%) and the great majority of teen girls (77%) said they wish they had waited longer to have sex.3
   

• Teens say sex is not acceptable for high school-age teens. Close to six in ten teens (58%) surveyed recently said sexual activity for high school-age teens is not acceptable, even if precautions are taken against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.4
   

• Teens say they should be given a strong abstinence message. Ninety-four percent of teens say that it is important for teens to be given a strong message from society that they should abstain from sex until they are at least out of high school.5
   

• Teens decide to delay becoming sexually active for many different reasons. In one survey of teen girls, "values and morals" was the most common reason given. Others included wanting to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, or because they were waiting for the "right" partner.6

1.  Brener, N., Lowry, R., Kann, L., Kolbe, L., Lehnherr, J., Janssen, R., & Jaffe, H. (2002). Trends in sexual risk behaviors among high school students -- United States, 1991-2001. MMWR, 51(38), 856-859. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance -- United States, 2005. MMWR, 55(SS-5).

2.  National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (2003). With one voice: America's adults and teens sound off about teen pregnancy. Washington, DC: Author.

3.  National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (2003). With one voice: America's adults and teens sound off about teen pregnancy. Washington, DC: Author.

4.  National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (2000). The cautious generation? Teens tell us about sex, virginity, and "the talk." Washington, DC: Author.

5.  National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (2003). With one voice: America's adults and teens sound off about teen pregnancy. Washington, DC: Author.

6.  Anderson Moore, K., Driscoll, A., and Duberstein Lindberg, L. (1998). A statistical portrait of adolescent sex, contraception, and childbearing. Washington, DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

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