Posted on 10/16/2010 7:22:55 AM PDT by ZGuy
They may live in a sexually charged culture that essentially encourages them to have sex, but nearly 70 percent of high school-age teens are virgins, according to a new study of the nation's sexual habits.
Published in the October issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the study surveyed 820 adolescents nationwide via the Internet, a confidential method the researchers say is more likely to produce honest answers compared to a face-to-face or phone interview. Parents had to give consent.
The study found that 69.7 percent of boys and 68.4 percent of girls ages 16-17 have never had intercourse. Among 14-15-year-olds, the percentage is even higher -- 90.1 percent for boys and 87.6 percent for girls.
Richard Ross, cofounder of the True Love Waits abstinence movement, told Baptist Press the study proves that abstinence messages can and do work.
"Less than a third of high schoolers have ever had sex. And that includes large numbers who only have had sex once," said Ross, assistant professor of student ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. "Also, consider that more than 60 percent of sexually experienced teenagers regret what they have done [according to data from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy]. Combining those figures reveals that only a small segment of American teenagers are committed to a sexual lifestyle.
"The vast majority are entirely open to waiting on sex," Ross said. "Whether they do or not depends on which voices and influences around them are the strongest."
Among 16-17-year-olds, 16.1 percent of boys and 20.8 percent of girls had had intercourse in the previous month.
The study also asked teens about oral sex. Depending on the question asked, between 66 and 71 percent of 16-17-year-old boys and girls had never participated. For 14-15-year-olds, it was around 87 percent for both sexes who had never participated.
Jimmy Hester, co-founder of the True Love Waits movement and the coordinator of True Love Waits for LifeWay Church Resources, said the study confirms what he has seen.
"Our experiences with True Love Waits over the past 17 years have shown a willingness on the part of students to consider and adopt God's plan for sexual behavior outside the marriage relationship," Hester told BP. "Once they understand the reasons behind sexual abstinence until marriage, and recognize the severe consequences when not practiced, most are willing to commit to it. The results of these types of reliable studies indicate trends toward better sexual behavior among students."
Ross said the data should impact what programs the federal government promotes. It should also encourage churches, he said.
"Congress and the administration cut all abstinence-centered program grants from the 2010 budget," Ross said. "As a citizen, that deeply concerns me and I will support candidates this fall that will take us in another direction.
"But as a youth leader, I see this as an opportunity for parents and churches to step into the gap. It is time for every pastor and every parent to ask, 'How long has it been since we saw precious teenagers standing in the altar of our church, making promises of purity to Almighty God, surrounded by the community of faith?"'
Ross added, "I am more concerned about churches that have moved away from a clear True Love Waits challenge every year than I am about funding shifts in Washington. For the children of believers, the clear voices of parents, youth leaders and the congregation carry far more weight than secular programs."
That's all one needs to know to know this survey is not accurate.
>> Parents had to give consent.
That probably skews the results so much that this study is useless, unless it is to say that 70% of teens with active, involved parents are virgins. It would be interesting to see this group measured against a group of teens whose parents did not return the permission form and to also compare teens who had one parent sign the form vs two parents (with the same last name).
Because teenagers always tell the truth, especially about sex!
Rubbish.
Bullsqueeze!
Dang - that’d put me in the top 30% of my class! Shazzam!
The left is trying hard to make that 2%
70% of high school students are lying..../s =.=
Sex is all about raging hormones. Its the species answering a natural call to reproduce and to continue the species survivability. I wonder if things were any different about a thousand years ago, probably not, maybe worse with a far lower percentage.
you mean 70% of all high school students are from Virginia????????????????
Boys lie, so as not to be embarrassed by their lack of conquests. Girls lie, so as not to be considered a whore.
That’s all one needs to know to know this survey is not accurate.
^^^
Exactly. I wish with all my heart that this survey was accurate, but, as a former high school teacher, I know that it is not. Sad but true.
The progressives have attained a huge victory in this regard in such a stunningly short period of time.
I wonder if things were any different about a thousand years ago....
&&&
I must assume that you are not that old. I am a boomer, and I can tell you that, up until the 1970s, the teenaged virgin was the rule rather than the exception.
Be very careful interpreting this. The definition of “sex” is a lot different now than it used to be. I would want to see the questions ask and follow up questions before taking this poll as anything but raw data.
The reason...
JERRY: Elaine, what percentage of people would you say are good looking?
ELAINE: Twenty-five percent.
JERRY: Twenty-five percent, you say? No way! It’s like 4 to 6 percent. It’s a twenty to one shot.
ELAINE: You’re way off.
JERRY: Way off? Have you been to the motor vehicle bureau? It’s like a leper colony down there.
ELAINE: So what you are saying is that 90 to 95 percent of the population is undateable?
JERRY: UNDATEABLE!
ELAINE: Then how are all these people getting together?
JERRY: Alcohol.
Rubbish.
Actually, when teenagers brag, they brag the other way. A bragging, skewed poll would've had 70% of all teenagers bragging they had sex 5-6 times a week.
Teenagers were having plenty of sex a thousand years ago. The only difference is they weren't in high school. They were working the fields, going into battle and raising their own families. Back then there was no adolescence. Adulthood was marked by reaching puberty and at that point it was time to start making babies.
The results may have been more accurate, at least for the males, had they used time tested scientific terms: First base, second base, third base and home run. ;>)
I must assume that you are not that old. I am a boomer, and I can tell you that, up until the 1970s, the teenaged virgin was the rule rather than the exception. ..................................... The mid to late 60’s changed everything. Flower power, Free Love, If it feels good do it. Add to that the 1st Amendment allowing Deep throat. Then we came to the word “is”, and now there “is” a new definition. BTW, I have 3 boomer Children, so I guess that makes me an oldie but goody and a Grampa too. Been here since FDR’s 2nd term, seen a lot, experienced a lot and still wish it was 1957. :o)
Au contraire. Teens may brag to their peers but when responding to authority figures (parents, teachers), teens tend to play innocent and/or respond in ways they believe will elicit approval. Similar skewed results are often found in drug use surveys which are also trumpeted by the lazy MSM as gospel truth.
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