When Do U.S. Youths Start Oral Sex, Intercourse?
New CDC Data on Timing of Oral Sex, Intercourse in Teens and Early 20s
Aug. 16, 2012 -- Which do teens do first: oral sex or sexual intercourse? Do teens use oral sex to delay first intercourse?
New CDC data put numbers on how many young Americans in their teens and early 20s have oral sex with opposite-sex partners -- and when they do it. The numbers come from 6,346 in-depth, computer-assisted interviews with 15- to 24-year-olds conducted from July 2007 to June 2010 as part of the National Survey of Family Growth.
The numbers show that young teens vary widely in their heterosexual behavior.
Some teens do appear to have oral sex to put off or at least delay first intercourse:
Young females who were youngest at age of first intercourse were more likely to have had vaginal intercourse before having oral sex. Young women with factors linked to later age of first vaginal intercourse -- mothers with a college or higher education and two parents living at home -- were more likely to report oral sex but not vaginal intercourse.
Yet data from an NIH study suggest that young people who put off vaginal intercourse by having oral sex don't wait very long for full sexual initiation.
When Do U.S. Youths Start Oral Sex, Intercourse?
New CDC Data on Timing of Oral Sex, Intercourse in Teens and Early 20s
Aug. 16, 2012 -- Which do teens do first: oral sex or sexual intercourse? Do teens use oral sex to delay first intercourse?
New CDC data put numbers on how many young Americans in their teens and early 20s have oral sex with opposite-sex partners -- and when they do it. The numbers come from 6,346 in-depth, computer-assisted interviews with 15- to 24-year-olds conducted from July 2007 to June 2010 as part of the National Survey of Family Growth.
The numbers show that young teens vary widely in their heterosexual behavior.
Some teens do appear to have oral sex to put off or at least delay first intercourse:
- Among females ages 15 to 19, 7.1% report oral sex but no vaginal intercourse, and 15.8% report having oral sex before first vaginal intercourse. In this age group, 45.8% said they'd never had sex of any kind.
- Among females ages 20 to 24, 3.1% report oral sex but no vaginal intercourse, and 36.2% report oral sex before first vaginal intercourse. In this age group, 9.9% said they'd never had sex of any kind.
- Among males ages 15 to 19, 10.3% report oral sex but no vaginal intercourse, and 15.4% report having oral sex before first vaginal intercourse. In this age group, 44.2% said they'd never had sex of any kind.
- Among males ages 20 to 24, 2.8% report oral sex but no vaginal intercourse, and 31.7% report oral sex before first vaginal intercourse. In this age group, 13% said they'd never had sex of any kind.
Young females who were youngest at age of first intercourse were more likely to have had vaginal intercourse before having oral sex. Young women with factors linked to later age of first vaginal intercourse -- mothers with a college or higher education and two parents living at home -- were more likely to report oral sex but not vaginal intercourse.
Yet data from an NIH study suggest that young people who put off vaginal intercourse by having oral sex don't wait very long for full sexual initiation.
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