It may seem like your teen is tuning you out when you try to talk to them about important issues. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy’s survey, teens say their parents most influence their decisions when it comes to sex.
Teens say that parents (38 percent) most influence their decisions about sex—more than peers (22 percent), the media (9 percent), teachers and educators (4 percent), and others, according to a new survey commissioned by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Nearly 9 in 10 (87 percent) young people surveyed also say that it would be much easier for teens to delay sexual activity and avoid teen pregnancy if they were able to have more open, honest conversations about these topics with their parents.
Among parents of teens surveyed, nearly 8 in 10 (79 percent) say that if their children are having sex, they hope their children will talk to them so they can help ensure that birth control is used.
The telephone survey of 1,002 young people age 12-19 and 1,032 adults age 20 and older was conducted by Social Science Research Solutions, an independent company. The survey is weighted to provide nationally representative estimates of both groups. The margin of error for the surveys is +/-3.10 for teens and +/-3.05 for adults.
Other findings from the survey include:
Abstinence and contraception: 93 percent of adults and 87 percent of teens think it is important for teens to be given a strong message about delaying sex. However, most do not think that should be the only message—74 percent of adults wish young people were getting information about both abstinence and contraception rather than either/or.
Public Policy: 65 percent of adults believe federally funded programs designed to prevent teen pregnancy should provide teens with information about both birth control and postponing sex and 68 percent think their community needs more efforts to prevent teen pregnancy.
Media: 77 percent of teens who have seen the MTV shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, say the shows help teens better understand the challenges of pregnancy and parenting.
Regret: 67 percent of teen girls and 53 percent of teen boys who have had sex wish they had waited longer.
Fatalism: 42 percent of teens say “it doesn’t matter whether you use birth control or not, when it is your time to get pregnant it will happen.”
Knowledge: 82 percent of teens say they have all the information they need to avoid an unplanned pregnancy yet many admit they know “little or nothing” about condoms (47 percent) and birth control pills (72 percent).
Complete survey results, including the wording of the questions asked, can be found in With One Voice 2012: America’s Adults and Teens Sound Off About Teen Pregnancy.
Teen pregnancy and birth rates in the U.S. have declined by more than 40 percent since the early 1990s. There have been declines in all 50 states and among all racial/ethnic groups. Despite this impressive progress, however, nearly 3 in 10 teen girls in the U.S. get pregnant and the U.S. continues to have the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world.
Visit thenationalcampaign.org/wov/ for more information on the With One Voice survey.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy seeks to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families. Its specific strategy is to prevent teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy among single, young adults. It supports a combination of responsible values and behavior by both men and women and responsible policies in both the public and private sectors.
Also see:
What Vaccines Does My Tween/Teen Need?
Connecting With Your Preteen Helps Them Become Responsible Adults
