Sexually Active

Indicator Definition
Percentage of high school students who had sexual intercourse with one or more people during the past three months.

High school students who report being sexually active in Colorado4

High school students who report being sexually active by race in Colorado5

Indicator Significance
Over the past decade, the incidence of sexual intercourse among students has decreased, even as contraceptive use has shown an overall increase. These combined factors have contributed to a decrease in teen pregnancy. However, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among adolescents have experienced a dramatic and consistent increase. An estimated 4 million teens in the United States have contracted an STD. Fewer than half of high school students report having sexual intercourse, with the percentage increasing by grade level. Boys and lower socioeconomic teens report higher rates of sexual activity. The younger the girl who becomes sexually active the greater the typical age difference between her and her partner, and the more likely she will have an unintended pregnancy. Adolescents who have never had sexual intercourse say concerns about pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS influence their abstinence. Teens say they wish they had more information regarding sexual behavior and choice.¹

Colorado Specifics
Colorado ranks third among the 27 states that collect data on adolescent sexual activity. Nevertheless, nearly one-third of Colorado adolescents reported having had sexual intercourse within the past three months, a rate that has changed little in the past five years. Hispanic teenagers are somewhat more likely to report being sexually active than white teenagers.

Promising Initiatives
In Colorado
The Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention (COAPPP) connects communities to help them work together to prevent teen pregnancy and STDs, while raising awareness about teen health issues and promoting teen parents’ well-being. COAPPP seeks to identify the specific cultural contexts unique to each community, and target its message to best reach diverse populations, using succinct and up-to-date data to present the most accurate picture possible to the public.²

Elsewhere
The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) in 2006 launched a Healthy Teen initiative, seeking to make high-quality reproductive health care services more accessible and teen friendly. A tool kit for health care providers, 7 Steps to Provide Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Care to Adolescents, assists them in counseling teens on making informed decisions about sexual activity. The program strives to deliver culturally appropriate services, including screening for reproductive and mental health risks and providing follow-up counseling.³

High school students who report being sexually active⁶

Text

1. “U.S. Teen Sexual Activity,” Kaiser Family Foundation
   
2. Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention
   
3. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
   

Charts

4. Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2001 – 2005
   
5. Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2005
   
6. Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Healthy Youth, 2005, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention