Teens and sex

Almost half of teens nationwide have had sex, and one in three are sexually active. In Utah? Its unclear.
School surveys pry into whether they have attempted suicide, carried a handgun, vomited to lose weight, injected drugs, if theyve
been raped. But they dont ask if theyve ever had sex, have had multiple partners or use condoms or birth control.
School and health ofcials who question teens through the Student Health and Risk Prevention survey and the Youth Risk
Behavior Surveillance System fear too many parents would opt out of the surveys if their children were asked about sex.
Still, its clear that thousands of Utah teens are having sex and getting pregnant and sexually transmitted diseases.
American teens having sex
Forty-six percent of teens nationally say they have had sex,
according to 2009 surveys for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
System, the most recent year available.
Source:s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System; Utahs Vital Statistics: Abortions, 2010; Utah Department of Health; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
Utah Adolescent Reproductive Health Report 2010.
The Salt Lake Tribune
R.I.
Del.
States that
dont query
about sex
States that
were not
included
*
From
39% to
44%
From
45%
to 49%
50% or
more
Lowest
Idaho 39%
Highest
Mississippi 61%
Utah teens giving birth
In 2010, 5.9 percent of Utah
births or 3,068 deliveries
were to moms age 19 or
younger.
Abortions among Utah teens
In 2010, 455 Utah abortions were
provided to teens up to age 19, making
up 13 percent of all abortions.
Sexually transmitted diseases
Utahs highest rates of chlamydia in 2010
were among girls ages 15 to 19.
1,S91 qlrls and 433 boys up io aqe 19
including 49 youngsters ages 10 to 14
had the STD, which can cause
infertility.
3S perceni oI all chlamydla cases
among females were women ages 19
and under.
|emales have hlqher raies ihan males
because they are screened more often.
Some Utah teens were more
likely to have babies:
The rate among Utah Latinas
ages 15 to 19 was 91.1 per
1,000 higher than the
national Latina birth rate of
70.1 in 2009 for that age.
2,165
were to
women
ages
18-19
314
were to
teens
ages
18-19
876
were to
girls ages
15-17
27
were to girls
under 15
125
were to
girls ages
15-17
16
were to girls
under 15
Utahs teen birth rate is
below the national average.
For teens ages 15-17, Utah
had the 17th lowest rate in
2009, at 16.2 births per
1,000 girls of that age.
Of the teens who provided their
contraceptive history, 70 percent hadnt
used any method in the year before
the abortion.
* Some states, including California, were not included for other reasons,
including insufcient data.