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  • Title: Adolescent sexuality and public policy.
    Author: Olsen JA, Jensen LC, Greaves PM.
    Journal: Adolescence; 1991; 26(102):419-30. PubMed ID: 1927672.
    Abstract:
    In recent decades, various attempts have been made to determine the level of sexual activity among adolescents. This information has been used in the planning and evaluation of sex-related programs. However, there is a flaw in using only the initial estimates of the behavior--that a sexually active person is defined as one who has had sexual intercourse. This narrow definition distorts the perception of adolescent sexual behavior. Sexual activity can more accurately be designated by focusing on the actual frequency with which teenagers have sex. In this research report, adolescents were considered sexually active if they had had sex within the last four weeks. Using this definition, adolescents were found to be substantially less sexually active than has been previously reported. This finding was then used to look at various policy decisions in the areas of sex education, family planning, and sexually transmitted disease prevention. This analysis of national surveys of teenage sexual behavior in the US provides a more useful and precise estimate of teenage sexual activity for policy and program decisions. Data were taken from the 1979 National Survey of Men (NSYM), and Women (NSYW), and the 1982 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Analysis was based on 1) the % of unmarried respondents who were sexually experienced and the % who were sexually active, and 2) the % sexually experienced who were sexually active. The distinction between sexual activity vs. experience shows considerable differences; i.e., for women 15-19 in 1979, 46% were sexually experienced but only 26% were sexually active at the time of the survey. Further delineation is made for never, seldom, monthly, and currently active by race. Black women 15-19 in 1982 were shown to be no more sexually active than white women. However, from the NSYM black males followed the traditional pattern of higher sexual activity, with 68.2% for blacks vs. 60.1% for whites. The data dispute the typical image of rampant sexual portrayed by the popular press. The public policy response to this epidemic was to adopt a family planning (FP) approach to teenage pregnancy prevention. Reduced adolescent pregnancy rates as a measure of program effectiveness have not been shown, and program effectiveness must be based on other measures. Sex education also has had limited success in reducing adolescent pregnancy. The suggestion is that access to accurate information, student liking, parental support, and knowledge acquisition are more reasonable criteria for demonstrating success of sex education programs. Abstinence programs help reduce the risks of teenage pregnancy by emphasizing skills in decision making and resisting pressures to be sexually involved. The example is given of an Atlanta-based program, Postponing Sexual Involvement, which reported that 84% resisted becoming sexually involved after completion of the program. Other abstinence programs show promise and are an inexpensive alternative to FP, albeit evaluations are needed. Contraceptive approaches are appropriate for the already sexually active population.
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