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The research also showed that boys living in single-parent households were more likely to delay sex past age 15 if they had attended a sex education class.

Mueller and her team were interested in teen sexual decision-making before and after the age of 15, because the federal governments' Healthy People 2010 initiative treats 15 as a dividing line. Healthy People 2010 sets a wide array of health goals for states and communities to achieve over the first decade of this century. One of its objectives: to reduce the number of teens under age 15 who are having sex for the first time.

"First and foremost, the report makes clear that the timing of sex education is quite important. That is, providing sex education to young people at an early age seems quite important in helping delay sexual activity," said Bill Albert, deputy director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

The researchers said the study could not explain why sex education might have a stronger effect in delaying sex among teen boys and black girls, but Albert offered an explanation.

"It is the case that declines in sexual activity among teen boys, as opposed to girls, and African-American teen girls, as opposed to other racial/ethnic groups, have been much more dramatic over the past decade. This may, in part, explain why the effect of sex education seems stronger. It may also be that concern about HIV/AIDs may be particularly strong among these two groups," said Albert.

However, certain sub-populations of teens deserve further research, said Mueller. The data suggested that both rural, white teen girls and white or Hispanic teen girls who had dropped out of school might be more likely to have sex before age 15 if they had sex education, but Mueller said the number of people in those groups in the study was so small that the results could be a statistical fluke.

"They were kind of opposite findings," said Mueller, who acknowledged that "some subgroups may not benefit from sex ed the same way as the larger group of teens."

This research comes in the wake of data released Dec. 5 by the CDC showing that the annual rate of births to teens has increased for the first time in 14 years. Between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for girls 15 to 19 rose 3 percent -- from 40.5 births per 1,000 in 2005 to 41.9 per 1,000 in 2006.

Considering both studies, Albert said, "The early wins may have been won. Future efforts may well have to be more intense, focused, and creative if the nation is to make continued progress in reducing teen pregnancy and childbearing. Put another way, yesterday's way of doing business will no longer suffice."
By Madeline Vann US news & World Report

Shock tactics to stop teen sex

Teenagers in Singapore are to be shown graphic images of the effects of sexually transmitted infections to try to dissuade them from having sex. Health officials are to distribute a 10-page magazine featuring colour pictures of people suffering from diseases such as gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis to 15-year-olds around the country.

The images will illustrate the serious disfigurement that some STIs can cause.

There is growing concern about the big increase in the number of teenagers who are engaging in sexual activity. A recent study found nearly one in five Singaporeans aged 13-18 have had sex, up sharply from 3.4% in 1999.

Teenage abortions are also on the rise, with 1,698 abortions, or 13% of last year's total being performed on women aged 20 and younger.

What do you say to your teens about sex?

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