SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEEDS OF YOUNG MEN

Historically, the sexual and reproductive health needs of young men have taken a back seat to those of women. Healthy
Teen Network believes that both men and women need discreet and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health
education in order to reduce unplanned pregnancies, STIs, and to create stronger families.

FAST FACTS

Sexually transmitted diseases are the most

common infections among adolescents and
young adults.1

Rates of STIs are higher among young men;

especially poor, minority men in their early 20s.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea are especially
common, with 500 to 600 reported cases a year
per 100,000 men in their early 20s.2

African American adolescent males, while only

15% of all male teens, constitue 40% of all
reported AIDS cases.2

Widespread educational efforts geared towards raising

health and reproductive needs of men are crucial to
shaping young men into knowledgeable and responsible
adult men, fathers, citizens and partners

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer

among men ages 20-34.
8,000 men are
diagnosed with testicular cancer each year; and
young men (15-39) are most at risk.3
There are roughly 822,000 teenage pregnancies
in the United States a year; 83% of which are
unintended.4

Men in their early 20s father most births to teen

girls, making their behavior patterns drastically
important for the reproductive health of teenage
women. 5

By the senior year of high school 63.8% of

young men have engaged in sexual intercourse
at least once.6

Only about 14% of American men 15-49 make a

sexual reproductive health visit annually. 7

Due to a lack of health insurance coverage

many young men cannot take advantage of
services even when they are available.8

Nearly one-third of men in their twenties rely solely

on the media for information about their sexual and
reproductive health.1

Effective programs and clinical practices should be

accessible, confidential, affordable, and sensitive to
cultural differences as well as conscious of social
stereotypes or pressures.

A new report by Urban Institute calls for a definition

of mens sexual health that includes the growth and
development of a secure sense of sexual identity
and the physical and emotional aspects of sexual
intimacy.9

RESOURCES
Healthy Teen Network: www.healthyteennetwork.org
Guttmacher Institute: www.guttmacher.org/
Answer: www.sexetc.org/topic/guys_health
Urban Institute: www.urban.org/publications/307327.html
Advocates for Youth: www.advocatesforyouth.org/arsh.htm

REFERENCES
1

Enhancing Teen Health and Well-Being. The Urban

Institute. 2007.
www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/TeenHealth_Brief1.pdf.
2
Alan Guttmacher Institute. (2002). Looking at mens Sexual
and Reproductive Health Needs. New York, New York.
Retrieved October 24, 2006 from
http://guttmacher.org/pubc/tgr/05/2/gr050207.html
3
"Testicular Cancer." Planned Parenthood. 2007.
www.plannedparenthood.org/sexual-health/menhealth/testicular-cancer.htm.
4
Finer LB et al., Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy
in the United States, 1994 and 2001, Perspectives on Sexual
and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(2):9096.
5
Alan Guttmacher Institute. (2002). In Their Own Right;
Addressing the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of
American Men. New York, NY. Retrieved February 13, 2004
from www.guttmacher.org/us_men/us_men.pdf.

Healthy Teen Network | 509 2nd Street N.E. | Washington, D.C. | 20002 | Ph: (202) 547-8814 | Fax: (202) 547-8815 | www.HealthyTeenNetwork.org

Teen Sexual Activity in the United States. The National

Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2006. .
http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/pdf/TeenS
exActivityOnePagerJune06.pdf. May 29, 2007.
7
Guttmacher Institute: Sexual and Reproductive Health
Information and Services for men Dangerously Lacking.
http://guttmacher.org/media/presskits/2005/03/15/index.
html
8
Cohen, R.A. Hao, C., and Coriarty-Nelson, Z. (2004).
Health Insurance Coverage: Estimates from the National
Health Interview Survey.
9
Urban Institute. Young Mens Sexual and Reproductive
Health: Toward a National Strategy. Edited by Freya L.
Sonenstein. (November 2000).

Healthy Teen Network | 509 2nd Street N.E. | Washington, D.C. | 20002 | Ph: (202) 547-8814 | Fax: (202) 547-8815 | www.HealthyTeenNetwork.org