Trends in Sexual Behaviors

From the Mailman School of Public Health Dr. Santelli and his team analyzed data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally representative survey of U.S. high school students, collected from 1991 to 2007. Students were categorized into groups according to risky behaviors — such as smoking or alcohol use — and each group was examined for trends in four sexual behaviors: ever having sexual intercourse, having four or more lifetime partners, current sexual activity, and the use of contraception during the last sexual experience. However, the data confirm no matter where they fell on the risk spectrum, teens seemed positively influenced by social forces and intervention messages in the 1990s and early 2000s, when there was a decline in sexual experience and number of sexual partners across the board. “The three biggest changes in adolescent behaviors in the last 16 years have been delaying sex, increasing the use of condoms, and reducing the number of partners,” notes Dr. Santelli. “All three are areas that HIV education has clearly identified as goals.”