March 18,2011 | The Clarion
News
Page 3
U.S. teens, young adults 'doing it' less, study says
By Carla Johnson
Vanderbilt U. via UWIRE
Fewer teens andyoung adults are having sex, a
government survey shows, and theories abound
for why they’re doing it less.
Experts say this generation may be more
cautious than their predecessors, more aware of
sexually spread diseases. Or perhaps emphasis
on abstinence in the past decade has had some
influence.
Or maybe they’re just too busy.
“It’s not even on my radar,” said 17-year-old
Abbey King of Hinsdale, 111., a competitive
swimmer who starts her day at 5 a.m. and falls
into bed at 10:30 p.m. after swimming, school,
weight lifting, running, more swimming,
homework and a volunteer gig working with
service dogs for the disabled.
The study, released Thursday, is based on
interviews of about 5,300 young people, ages 15
to 24. It shows the proportion in that age group
who said they’d never had oral, vaginal or anal
sex rose in the past decade from 22 percent to
about 28 percent.
The findings are sure to surprise some parents
who see skin and lust in the media and worry
that sex is rampant.
“Many parents and adults look at teens and
sex and see nothing but a blur of bare midriffs.
They think things are terrible and getting
worse,” said Bill Albert, chief program officer
for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy.
There are other surveys of sexual behavior, but
this is considered the largest and most reliable.
“It’s the gold standard,” Albert sad.
Health scientist Anjani Chandra of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention described
the decline in sex as small but significant. She
declined to speculate on the reasons. It’s difficult
to look for a trend earlier than 2002 because
previous surveys did not gather as much detail
about various types of sex, she added.
However, data over the years on vaginal
intercourse among never-married adolescents
shows a steady decline since 1988. That seems
to be in sync with other CDC studies showing
an overall drop in teen pregnancy.
That the trend began in the late 1980s seems
to undermine the idea that abstinence-only sex
education — heavily emphasized during the
2001-2009 presidency of George W. Bush — is
the explanation, Albert said.
But it is possible those messages contributed,
he added.
Comprehensive sex education — which
includes abstinence but also teaches contraception
and safer sex skills — didn’t go away during the
Bush years, said Elizabeth Schroeder, executive
director of Answer, a national sex education
organization at Rutgers University.
“We have been redoubling efforts and it has
made an impact on these statistics,” Schroeder
said.
SamDercon, a 17-year-old high school junior
from Princeton, N.J., said he’s learned to worry
about the consequences of having sex.
“I do think that sexual education is taking
away thatidea that you are invincible,” said
Dercon, who is also a contributing writer to
www.sexetc.org, a project of Rutgers-based
Answer
“There’s always that fear of something going
wrong with consequences that could screw up
your future,” he said.
The leading influence on sexual activity
among young adults is what parents teach and
what peers are doing, experts said. And for
whatever reason, smaller proportions are “doing
if’ than in the past.
King, the busy Illinois teen, said she broke up
see 'Doing it' page 4
Grad Finale
Hosted by the Office of the Registrar, King’s Creek Bookstore, and Jostens on Tuesday, IVIarch 22, from 11 a.m. until 2
p.m. in the Reserve Dining Room of IVIyers Dining Hall.
The Alumni Affairs Office will be there to welcome you as the
newest Alumni ofthe College and collecting your post-graduation
contact information so they can keep you connected with BC.
The Senior Gift Committee will be there to promote the Senior
Class Gift, which supports Scholarships through the Loyalty Fund
for fellow Students. This is also a great opportunity for you to
sign-up for an @alumni.brevard.edu e-mail address.
The Office of Career Exploration & Development will answer your
job search questions, assist you with your resume, and provide
other career resources.
The Office of the Registrar will answer questions regarding
completion of degree requirements, graduation with honors,
diplomas and transcripts. The Registrar will check your eligibility
for graduation and will be able to answer questions or concerns
that you may have regarding your graduation.
The Office of Academic Affairs will have information on the
commencement weekend schedule and lodging options as well
as will provide you with the opportunity to indicate who will be
hooding you at the baccalaureate on Friday evening; May 13.
• The Office of Financial Aid will answer questions regarding
financial concerns such as student loan repayments and will
conduct loan exit counseling sessions for students who have
borrowed money while attending Brevard College.
• The Office of Business and Finance will have your student
account information available and will answer any questions
regarding balance concerns as well as provide exit counseling
for anyone that has had a Perkins Loan while attending Brevard
College.
• Classic Photography, who will take your photo during Convocation,
will also be ready to take your formal graduation picture at this
event. Caps and gowns will be provided for the photo.
• Class Rings can be ordered at the Jostens booth.
• Your Cap, Gown, and Hood can be ordered through Jostens
and the Bookstore.
• Graduation Announcements, etc. can be ordered. Thank-you
notes, custom frames, and other accessories will be available,
and Jostens will have samples on hand.
Questions should be directed to Alyse Hollingsworth in the Office ofthe Registrar awh@brevard.edu or 828-884-8155 or
the Bookstore at kingscreek@fheg.follett.com or 828-884-8184.