SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR OF AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS - RESULTS FROM A UNITED-STATES NATIONAL SURVEY

Purpose: This paper reports on data from a 1990 U.S. national survey o f the sexual behavior of male and female adolescents aged 12-17. Metho ds: A household survey using a multi-stage area probability sample of the United States was undertaken in 1990. Adolescents were interviewed about sexual history, contraceptive use, and motivations, attitudes, and expectations with regard to sexual behavior and risk. Results: The majority of 17-year-olds and about half of 16-year-olds, both male an d female, had initiated sexual activity, with males initiating at youn ger ages than females. Sexual activity was episodic; only half of sexu ally experienced adolescents reported having sex in the month prior to the interview. Many sexually active respondents expressed less desire to have sex than confidence that they would have sex. Over half of re spondents reported using a condom at most recent intercourse, with boy s being more likely than girls to report condom use. Condom use at las t intercourse was unrelated to perceptions of risk and concern about A IDS. Conclusions: Given the importance of some of the undesirable cons equences of sexual activity in adolescents, such as AIDS and unwanted pregnancy, accurate and up-to-date information on sexual behavior of t his age group is crucially important. The results of this study unders core the need for in-depth, population-based research on adolescent se xual behavior.