More American teens are abstaining from sex, and religion is one of the many reasons

In the United States, fewer teens are sexually active and there is an increased use of contraception among young adults, a new CDC report published on Thursday.

The CDC report used data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) dated from 2015 to 2019. Results based on the data suggested that 40. 5 per cent of female teenagers and 38.7 per cent of male teenagers engaged in vaginal intercourse with an opposite-sex partner during the 2015-2019 period.

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The percentage of sexually active female teenagers remained quite the same but there was a 1.5 per cent drop in sexually active male teenagers as compared to 2002.

Nearly four out of five female teenagers in 2015–2019 used a method of contraception at first sex and among male teenagers, the use of contraception at first sex increased by 10 per cent since 2002. This is a good indicator of safe sex awareness among US teens.

The report drew from interviews with more than 21,000 men and women, including more than 3,800 teenage boys and girls. Researchers said the study sought to provide information on sexual activity and contraception use among teenagers.

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Interesting findings from the report

• In 2015–2019, 37.4 per cent of female teenagers and 34.2 per centof male teenagers had sex in the past 12 months.

• The percentage of teenagers who had sex in the past 3 months (“sexually active”) in 2015–2019 was 29.8 per centamong females and 24.9 per centamong males.

• Among females, a higher percentage of Black teenagers (45.7 per cent) had sex in the past 12 months compared with Hispanic (34.1 per cent) and White (37.3 per cent) teenagers. However, the observed difference between Black and White teenagers was not significant.

• Among males, higher percentages of Black (43.4 per cent) and Hispanic (38.9 per cent) teenagers had sex in the past 12 months compared with White teenagers (29.5 per cent).

• Overall, 7.6 per centof females “really did not want first sex to happen at the time,” and the remainder had mixed feelings (46.5 per cent) or “really wanted it to happen at the time” (45.9 per cent).

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Here are the top reasons teenagers provided for why they had not had sex:

• Among girls, 32.5 per centsaid it was “against religion or morals”; 25.3 per cent said they hadn't “found the right person yet”; and 15.9 per centsaid, they didn't "want to get pregnant.”

• Among boys, 35.3 per centsaid they hadn't "found the right person yet”; 26.2 per centsaid sex was “against religion or morals”; and 11.1 per centsaid they did not “want to get a female pregnant.”

• Teenagers were least likely to choose “Don’t want to get a sexually transmitted disease” as their primary reason for abstaining from sex.

Contraceptive use among teenagers

The report also showed the ever-use of contraceptive methods among teenagers. From 2002 through 2015–2019, nearly all sexually experienced female teenagers ever used some method of contraception, with 98.9 per centhaving used any method of contraception in 2015–2019.

The most-used methods among female teenagers in 2015–2019, similar to previous survey periods, were the condom (95.4 per cent), withdrawal (64.8 per cent), and the pill (52.0 per cent).

(With inputs from agencies)