The Sex Life of Teenagers

It can be very difficult for some parents to talk to their teenagers about sex.  Hopefully, the statistics that follow will encourage more dialogue about this topic.  In fact, parents should begin having these conversations with their preschoolers and school aged children (a topic we will cover in the future).

According to the National Survey of Family Growth (2010) 

Females aged 15-19:
     38% had intercourse in the last 12 months
     13% had sex 4 or more times in the past month
     14% lost their virginity to someone they "just met"              or were "just friends"
     21% didn't use any contraception during first                      sexual experience
     44% think it is better to get married than go through life being single
     51% agree that 18 year-olds can have sex if they like each other
     84% of females used birth control during most recent intercourse
             55% used a condom
             31% used the pill
             21% used both
             10% other methods (hormone shot, the patch, etc.) 

Males age 15-19:
     38% had intercourse in the last 12 months
     11% had sex 4 or more times in the past month
     25% lost their virginity to someone they "just met" or were "just friends"
     13% did not use any contraception during their first sexual experience    
     49% think it is better to get married than go through life being single
     56% agree that 18 year-olds can have sex if they like each other
     79% of males used a condom during most recent intercourse

Additional findings:

• Females who did not use contraception during their first sexual experience are twice as likely to get pregnant before 20.
• Most common reason to abstain from sex was "religion or morals"
• 14% of females and 18% of males would be "very pleased" or "a little pleased" if they were pregnant or got someone pregnant
• 15-19 year-olds have the highest rates of STDs (chlamydia & gonorrhea with syphilis on the rise)
• While only 25% of the sexually experienced population, 15-24 year olds have 50% of all new STDs

I think that it may be time for all of us to encourage (and/or have) a conversation with a future teenager about these numbers!  What do you think?

A Disturbing New Trend?

With numerous recent examples in the news, it appears that the murder-suicide rate among couples is on the rise.  Unfortunately, there is no database which tracks the incidence of murder-suicide in the U.S but many studies have focused on this devastating phenomenon.  It is estimated that between 1000-1500 murder-suicide deaths occur each year, equaling about 10 per week.  Although variation in reporting and details exist, there are some commonalities found in this heinous crime.

According to the Violence Policy Center and Eliason (2009):
92% of murder-suicides involve a gun
94% of perpetrators are men
74% of murder-suicides involve an intimate partner
        (96% of intimate partner victims are women)
75% of murder-suicides occur in the home
When there are 3+ victims, the perpetrator is usually male
Most perpetrators are older than their victims by at least 6.3 years
Females will kill their children and then themselves
Males will kill their children, their partner, and then themselves
Current/previous law enforcement officers have higher rates
Substance abuse is less likely in murder-suicides than other murders
Perpetrators have low risk of previous criminal behavior
Estrangement (break-up, divorce, separation) is a common factor
Perpetrators are more depression than other murderers
Domestic violence is common in murder-suicides between intimate partners

States with higher rates of murder-suicide (2005):

• Pennsylvania & Texas - 18 each
• California - 17
• Florida - 15
• North Carolina - 14
• Tennessee - 11

Although shocking, the rates of murder-suicide are not on the rise.  These stories are receiving more media coverage, but overall rates remain low in comparison to other murders and violence crimes.

According to the National Institute of Justice, those at risk for murder-suicides have a history of domestic violence (biggest predictor), access to a firearm, and history of threatening statements and/or behavior.

The Truth About Infidelity (part 1)

In light of numerous high profile marriages being affected by infidelity in the media lately, I thought that I would begin a series (The Truth About Infidelity) on the topic.  What follows is the first installment.

According to the General Social Survey of men and women:
   76.4% think sex with someone other than your spouse is always wrong
   63.7% reported only having sex with their spouse while married
              Of those who had extramarital affairs:
              63.7% had sex with a friend
              30.8% had sex with an acquaintance
              33.8% had sex on a casual date
              2.3% paid for or were paid for sex

Additional statistics report that:
   41% (marriages) one or both admit physical or emotional infidelity
   57% of men admit to ever committing infidelity
   54% of women admit to ever committing infidelity
   74% of men would commit adultery if they could get away with it
   68% of women would commit adultery if they could get away with it
   36% admit to affair with co-worker
   36% admit infidelity on business trips
   17% admit infidelity with a brother-in-law or sister-in-law
                                   and
   31% of marriages survive after admission/discovery of an affair