Early sexual Activity in teenagers

As adolescent males mature, their sexual activity increases while their condom use decreases, according to a longitudinal study of men aged 15-22 across the United States) Risky sexual behavior also increases as young men age, putting them at greater risk of becoming infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). (Edwards, 18) Among all respondents, the proportion who used intravenous (IV) drugs increased from 0.5% in 2000 to 1.6% in 2001, and the proportion who had had sex with a prostitute increased from 0-7% in 2000 to 2.5% in 2001.

Using data from the National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM), researchers compared sexual behaviors of young men who were aged 15-19 in 2000 with their behaviors in 2001, when they were aged 17-22. They also compared 17.5-19-year-old cohorts in 2000 and 2001 to determine if these behaviors were age-related or period-related. (Edwards, 18) The NSAM is a nationally representative survey of 1,880 never-married, non-institutionalized males who were aged 15-19 when the survey began in 2000. The survey, which oversampled blacks and Hispanics, had an initial response rate of 74%. Follow-up of 1,676 (89%) respondents at age 17-22 was conducted from November 1990 to March 2001. All of the data were collected through face-to-face interviews, except for information on sensitive topics such as substance use and risky sexual behavior, which was obtained through self-administered questionnaires. The researchers recorded the number of times the participant had had intercourse and the proportion of times he used condoms irt the 12 months preceding the study, including a maximum of six partners in the 2000 survey and a maximum of eight partners for the 2001 follow-up. (Edwards, 18)

The proportion of respondents who had had intercourse with a female increased from 60% in 2000 to 84% in 2001. The proportion of young men who had used a condom at last intercourse decreased from 56% in 2000 to 44% in 2001. (Edwards, 18) The researchers note, however, that this decrease may have been the result of a change in contraceptive methods, as the proportion of young men whose partners used a method rose from 21% in 2000 to 33% in 2001. All differences were statistically significant.

When the researchers compared cohorts of 17.5-19-year-olds, they found no significant differences between 2000 and 2001 in the proportion who had had sex or who had used condoms; therefore, they concluded that the changes that ...