Tag: sex education
CDC Grades American Schools On How Well They Teach Sex Education

CDC Grades American Schools On How Well They Teach Sex Education

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

American high schools got generally good marks for their teaching of topics related to sex education, but there are still many areas in need of improvement, according to a new report card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Across the country, 94 percent of high schools taught students the benefits of abstaining from sex, 88 percent explained why less is more when it comes to the number of sexual partners, and 92 percent discussed how family members, friends and the culture at large influence their sexual behaviors. In addition, 95 percent of schools explained to ninth- through 12th-graders how sexually transmitted diseases are spread and the health consequences of an STD infection, while 85 percent of schools taught students how to get products and services to help them prevent STDs and pregnancy.

High schools were less eager to give students specific information about condoms. For instance, 70 percent explained why it was important to use condoms correctly and consistently, 60 percent told students how to get condoms, and 54 percent demonstrated how to use them correctly.

“We need to do a better job of giving our young people the skills and knowledge they need to protect their own health,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, who oversees the CDC’s HIV and STD prevention efforts, said in a statement.

Sex is often a taboo subject in schools, but public health officials say it’s essential to teach students how to reduce their risk of getting HIV and other STDs. There’s certainly evidence that many of them are in the dark — of the nearly 20 million new sexually transmitted infections reported each year, almost half are diagnosed in teens and young adults in their early 20s, CDC data show.

Accurate and specific sex education classes can also reduce teen pregnancy, which makes girls much more likely to drop out of school and sets their children on a path toward worse health and lower achievement.

“Lack of effective sex education can have very real, very serious health consequences,” Dr. Stephanie Zaza, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, said in a statement. “Young people who have multiple sex partners, don’t use condoms, and use drugs or alcohol before sex are at higher risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. School-based sex education is a critical opportunity to provide the skills and information they need to protect themselves.”

Some states got higher grades for sex education than others. Three states — Delaware, New Hampshire and New Jersey — scored 100 percent for teaching the benefits of abstinence, and another 15 states scored at least 95 percent. But only 56 percent of Arizona schools explained the value of abstinence, as did a mere 60 percent of schools in Alaska.

Similarly, only two states — New Jersey and Vermont — had more than 90 percent of high schools teach students how to use condoms. In two other states – Arizona and South Dakota – less than one-third of schools did so.

Overall, only 46 percent of American high schools covered all 16 topics related to preventing pregnancy, HIV and other STDs that government health experts say are essential.

Middle schools got lower grades than high schools, according to the CDC report card. Nationwide, 77 percent of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders learned the benefits of abstinence and 75 percent were told how STDs are spread. Only 27 percent of middle school students got information about where to get condoms and 23 percent learned how to use them correctly.

The grades were published Wednesday in the CDC’s latest edition of its School Health Profiles report, which is based on survey data collected once every two years.

©2015 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Ernesto Andrade via Flickr

 

For Many Teens, Formal Sex Education Comes Too Late, CDC Report Says

For Many Teens, Formal Sex Education Comes Too Late, CDC Report Says

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Health experts have some simple advice for reducing the teen birthrate in the U.S. — make sure teens learn about abstinence and birth control before they start having sex.

It sounds obvious, but it’s obviously needed, according to a report released Tuesday by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among teen girls who were sexually experienced, 83 percent told interviewers that they didn’t get formal sex education until after they’d lost their virginity.

Altogether, 91 percent of young women between the ages of 15 and 17 said they’d taken a formal sex education class that covered information about birth control or ways to say no to sex (and 61 percent said they’d learned about both). In addition, 76 percent of girls in this age group discussed one or both of these topics with their parents.

But timing is everything. The fact that most sexually active young women didn’t get clued in about abstinence or birth control until after they’d had sex “represents a missed opportunity to introduce medically accurate information,” the researchers wrote.

The study, published online in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, noted that:

—14.6 percent of 15-year-olds had ever had sex, including 8 percent who were sexually active in the previous three months;

—28.5 percent of 16-year-olds had ever had sex, including 16.5 percent who were sexually active in the previous three months; and

—38.6 percent of 17-year-olds had ever had sex, including 29.7 percent who were sexually active in the previous three months.

Only 15 percent of these teens used a birth control method that was deemed at least “moderately” effective the first time they had sex, including the pill, vaginal ring, IUD or hormonal implant. Another 62 percent used a “less effective” method, such as condoms, sponges, the rhythm method or withdrawal. The remaining 23 percent said they didn’t use any type of contraception when they lost their virginity, the researchers reported.

Overall, the teen birthrate continued to decline, according to data from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System. In 2012, the birthrate hit an all-time low of 29.4 per 1,000 women between 15 and 19. (In 1991, there were 84.1 births for every 1,000 women in that age group.)

The birthrate declined even more among the subset of teens who are not yet legal adults. For every 1,000 15-year-olds, 5.4 babies were born in 2012 (down from 17.9 in 1991). Among 16-year-olds, the birthrate was 12.9 in 2012 (down from 36.9 in 1991), and for 17-year-olds it was 23.7 in 2012 (down from 60.6 in 1991).

Birthrates among these younger teens varied significantly by state and by race and ethnic group, the CDC researchers found. The District of Columbia had the highest rate, at 29 births per 1,000 women 15 to 17. At the other end of the spectrum was New Hampshire, with 6.2 births per 1,000.

Nationwide, Latina teens had the highest birthrate, at 25.5 births per 1,000 women 15 to 17. Asian-American teens had the lowest birthrate in this age group, at 4.1. In the middle were whites (8.4), Native Americans (17) and African-Americans (21.9), according to the report.

The study did not include data on births to girls under 15. It also excluded information on miscarriages, abortions and stillbirths, since recent figures for those were not available.

Public health experts are especially concerned about births to younger teens because these mothers “are at greatest risk for poor medical, social, and economic outcomes,” the researchers noted. Among other challenges, new mothers in this age group are significantly less likely to finish high school than teens who gave birth at age 18 or 19.

About one in four teen births is to a young woman between 15 and 17, according to the CDC. Every week, nearly 1,700 babies are born to mothers in this age group.

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