The Ripple Effect

What Is the Ripple Effect?

For years, it was thought that pregnancy and STDs were the biggest implications of the decision to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage. With that mindset, the scientific and medical communities, with support and funding from the federal government, set out to promote condoms and make contraceptives readily available to all. Even if the contraception didn’t work, the loosening of laws allowing abortion on-demand promised to make every child a wanted child.

Free love and “safe” sex was the message of a whole generation. It seemed as though everyone would be happy. People would finally be allowed to be uninhibited with their expressions of “love” and to act out on their hormonal urges.

One generation later, the world has more technology to make everything in life easier and faster so we can get what we want when we want it. Businesses competing for our money promote a “have it your way” motto. We have more than we’ve ever had materialistically speaking, and the so-called “freedom” in relationships has left nothing taboo.

And, we couldn’t be more depressed about it.

Depression and suicide are at an all-time high, divorce rates hover at around 50%, and child abuse is rampant. After a dramatic rise in teen pregnancy after the 1960s sexual revolution, teen pregnancy has gone down since the 1980s. But, STD rates have risen dramatically despite the increased condom use among teens during the same time period.

The fact is, we know more now about teens and sexual activity than we did one generation ago. With that knowledge, we must adjust our education system to keep up with the latest scientific and medical information. Sex is not just a physical act with potential physical consequences. It affects the whole person. In order to have healthier individuals and a better functioning society, we cannot ignore the science. Instead, we must teach our youth the healthiest way to live and empower them to abstain from risk-taking behaviors, including sexual activity.

The Ripple Effect: There are decisions that could change everything.

Sexual Risk Behaviors in Indiana

Among Indiana High School students, 49% ever had sexual intercourse.
Among Indiana High School students, 5% had sexual intercourse for the first time before 13 years old..
Among Indiana High School students, 14% had sexual intercourse with four or more persons in their lifetime.
Among Indiana High School students who are sexually active, 42% did not use a condom during the last sexual intercourse.
Among Indiana High School students, 10% were never taught in school about AIDS or HIV infection.

Teen Sexual Behavior

In 2009, 46% of all high school students reported ever having had sexual intercourse.
In 2009, 34% of all high school students reported being sexually active - that is, they had sex in the previous three months.
In 2009, 14% of high school students reported having already had four or more sexual partners.
In 2009, 6% of high school students reported that they first had sex before age 13.

Parent Power

87% of teens aged 12-19 say that it is important for teens to be given a strong message that they should not have sex until they are at least out of high school.
Teens 12-19 say that parents (46%) most influence their decision about sex. By comparison, 20% say friends most influence their decisions.
80% of teens aged 12-19 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
About 60% of teens aged 12-17 find it easy to talk to their parents about relationships.
Over half of teens aged 12-17 believe that parents should start talking with their kids about sex, love, and relationships when their kids are 13 or 14 years.
Almost one-third of teens aged 12-17 say the conversation should start even earlier -- at age 12 or younger.

Educational Attainment

When compared to sexually active teens, those who abstain from sexual activity during their high school are 60% less likely to be expelled from school.
When compared to sexually active teens, those who abstain from sexual activity during their high school are 50% less likely to drop out of high school.
When compared to sexually active teens, those who abstain from sexual activity during their high school are almost twice as likely to graduate from college.
34% of young women who had been teen mothers have no high school diploma or GED by the time they are 22 years old.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

Nearly one out of four sexually active teens is living with an STI at this moment.
Approximately one in four sexually active teens contracts an STI every year.
An estimated half of all new HIV infections occur in people under age 25 years old.
Up to 10-15% of women with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) which is a serious complication of some STIs may become infertile and a large proportion of the ectopic pregnancies are due to the consequences of PID.
Estimates suggest that even though young people aged 15-24 years represent only 25% of the sexually experienced population, they acquire nearly half of all new STIs.
In 2009, women aged 15-19 years have the highest rate of chlamydia compared to any other age or sex group.
In 2009, women aged 15-19 years have the highest rate of gonorrhea compared to any other age or sex group.
Most people infected with Herpes Simplex Virus 2, which causes genital herpes, are not aware of their infection.
The most common STIs among young people are HPV, trchomoniasis, and chlamydia.
Compared to older adults, adolescents (10- to 19-year olds) are at a higher risk for acquiring STIs for a number of reasons, including limited access to preventative and regular health care and physiologically increased susceptibility to infection.
Many sexually transmitted diseases can cause adverse pregnancy outcomes, including, but not limited to, miscarriages, stillbirths, intrauterine growth restriction, and mother-to-infant infections.
Consistent use of the latex male condom could reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS by approximately 85% and reduce the risk of gonorrhea for men, but there was not enough evidence to determine that the male condom was effective in reducing the risk of most other STIs including gonorhea in women, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, gentital ulcers, genital herpes, chancroids, syphilis, and HPV.
35% of 13-19 year olds and 29% of 20 to 29 year olds are infected with HPV.

Teen Pregnancy

51% of adults and 42% of teens aged 12-17 think the most helpful option to help young people avoid teen pregnancy is by having more open conversations with parents; 36% of adults and 34% of teens cited more frequent and better quality sex and relationship education as their 2nd choice.
59% of pregnancies among 15-19-year olds in 2006 ended in birth, and 27% in abortion.
82% of teen pregnancies are unplanned.
10% of all US births are to girls aged 19 or younger.
34% of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 years.
Almost half of teenage girls who have sex for the first time before age 15 report having ever been pregnant during their teenage years.

Sexual Pressure & Dating Violence

33% of sexually active teens 15-17 reported "being in a relationship where they felt things were moving too fast sexually.
24% of sexually active teens 15-17 had "done something sexual they didn't really want to."
21% of sexually active teens 15-17 reported having oral sex to "avoid having sexual intercourse."
29% of teens 15-17 reported feeling pressure to have sex.
Nearly one in ten 9-12th grade students report having been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to at some point, (females 12% and males 6%).

Sex-ting

87% of teens aged 12-19 believe that sharing nude or semi-nude images of themselves or other teens electronically (through cell phones, website, and/or other social media networks) leads to more sex in real life.
20% of teens aged 13-19 say that they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves.
39% of teens aged 13-19 say that they have electronically sent, or posted online, sexually suggestive messages via text, email and/or IM.
15% of teens aged 13-19 who have sent or posted nude/semi-nude images of themselves say they have done so to someone they only knew online.
44% of both teen girls and teen boys aged 13-19 say it is common for sexually suggestive text messages to get shared with people other than they intended recipient.
22% of teens aged 13-19 say they are personally more forward and aggressive using sexually suggestive words and images than they are in "real life".
51% of teen girls aged 13-19 say pressure from a guy is a reason girls send sexy messages or images; only 18% of teen boys cited pressure from female counterparts as a reason.

Sex or Steady?

Most teens aged 12-19 (93% of girls and 88% of boys) say they would rather have a boyfriend/girlfriend and not have sex than have sex but not have a boyfriend/girlfriend.

Role Model

Almost one in five (17%) of teens aged 12-17 say they don't know anyone who serves as an example of a healthy relationship.

Sex and Substance Abuse

One-quarter of sexually active 9-12th grade students report using alcohol or drugs during their most recent sexual encounter.
51% of 15-17 year olds say that they are personally concerned that they might "do more" sexually than they planned to because they were drinking or using drugs.

What Guys Think

66% of males aged 15-22 say they agree that they could be happy in a relationship that doesn't include sex.
Only 6% of males aged 15-22 say they've broken up with someone because she wouldn't have sex with him.
21% of males aged 15-22 say they've been pressured by a girl to go further sexually than they wanted to.
78% of males aged 15-22 say there is "way too much pressure" from society to have sex.
73% of males aged 15-22 say they have more respect for girls who say no to sex.
78% of males aged 15-22 say they would rather be in a relationship with someone who is smart and funny than someone who is super hot.
75% of males aged 15-22 say they would prefer to wait and lose their virginity with someone they love; only 25% would rather get it over with as soon as possible.
71% of males aged 15-22 say that a girl who has "sex-ted" (e.g. sent/posted nude or semi-nude images of herself electronically) is not girlfriend material.

Sources

A detailed chart of sources for each statistic above is available upon request. Please contact the Director of Operations at 317.846.0386 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.
Sources include The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Child Trends, Kaiser Family Foundation, Dr. Meg Meeker, The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Add Health, The RAND Corporation, Journal of Adolescent Health, Guttmacher Institute, and The National Compaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.