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Reducing Teen STD Risk Requires Focus on a Broader Range of Sexual Activities
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 19, 2000 -- More teenagers are at risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) than previously assumed, according to a new study that documents teen males' participation in a broad range of sexual activities, including oral and anal sex. The findings from the Urban Institute's analysis of the 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM) were released today in the November/December issue of Family Planning Perspectives.
 The analysis, by Urban Institute researchers Gary Gates and Freya Lund Sonenstein, shows that more teen males have engaged in either vaginal, anal, or oral sex (64 percent) than those who have engaged in vaginal intercourse only (55 percent). These and other findings from the survey suggest the need to expand the traditional markers used to measure adolescent risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
"STD prevention efforts have focused on vaginal sexual intercourse largely because of efforts toward pregnancy prevention, but it is clear that this focus is too narrow," concludes Gates. "The findings underline the importance of monitoring a broader spectrum of sexual behaviors among teenagers."
The study, "Heterosexual Genital Activity Among Adolescent Males: 1988 and 1995," fills a large gap in national data about teen sexual behavior. It provides estimates of engagement in various sexual practices from the 1995 NSAM and of changes in these practices between 1988 and 1995.
METHODOLOGY
The NSAM conducted in-person interviews with nationally representative samples of males ages 15 to 19 in 1988 and 1995, and both rounds over-sampled black and Hispanic youth. Questions about engagement in genital heterosexual activities were asked in a self-administered questionnaire, completed at the end of the interview.
KEY FINDINGS
Experience by Age of Teen Male: The study's overall findings for teen males hold true regardless of their age. Among 15-year-olds, 28 percent reported having had vaginal sex only, while 44 percent reported experience with genital sexual activity: either vaginal, anal, or oral sex or masturbation by a female. Among 16-year-olds, 47 percent reported having had vaginal sex, but 62 percent reported experience with genital sexual activity. Among 17- to 19-year-olds, 68 percent reported having had vaginal sex, while 78 percent reported experience with genital sexual activity.
Changes in Teen Male Heterosexual Activities since 1988: Overall, levels of experience with some non-vaginal sexual activity appear to have increased. Changes in anal sexual activity cannot be documented since related questions were not asked in 1988. In 1995, however, one in 10 teen males had engaged in anal intercourse. Among 15- to 19-year-olds, the share that had ever been masturbated by a female at least once significantly increased from 40 percent to 53 percent. In both 1988 and 1995, teen males' levels of experience receiving oral sex from females were similar (44 and 49 percent, respectively). Among black teen males the rate more than doubled from 25 to 57 percent.
NEXT STEPS
"Teenagers may not understand the risks associated with oral and anal sex," warns Sonenstein, referring to another article in the Family Planning Perspectives issue by Lisa Remez of the Alan Guttmacher Institute. "Parents and educators may be unaware of the broad range of teens' sexual activity. We need to close these information gaps to reduce the risks associated with all forms of sexual activity, not just vaginal intercourse."
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