August 26, 2002

Teenage virgins now in the majority
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--More than half of high school teens report they are virgins, according to a new federal study.
___The report, from data in the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, marks a reversal from about a decade ago when more than half of high schoolers said they had engaged in sexual intercourse.
___The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked 13,601 teens about sexual behavior as well as other issues, such as substance abuse and physical activity.
___In 1990, the report found 54.3 percent of teens in grades nine through 12 had experienced intercourse. But by 2001, 54.4 percent of high schoolers said they had not had sex.
___Some experts attribute the statistical change to abstinence education while others credit "please just wait" messages linked to HIV/AIDS education.
___"The only thing that changed in that time frame is the amount of talk and programming for abstinence until marriage," said LeAnna Benn, director of Teen-Aid, an abstinence program in Spokane, Wash.
___William Smith, director of public policy for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, said: "I think some of the HIV/AIDS education out there is underscoring that (teens) don't have to have sex, that it's important for young people to delay sexual activity until they're ready for it, emotionally or otherwise."

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