Teens Failing To Use Condoms

As I grow older and reflect more on my life, I have grown to understand that you can’t please everybody all of the time. Sure, my parents and after-school specials would try to instill that lesson in me as I was growing up, but, at least for me, it wasn’t until I failed a few times trying TO please everybody that I realized it really was impossible. People in general and teenagers specifically have a tough time with that lesson. So, it wasn’t mind-blowing when I read about a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that almost a quarter of all teenagers in the United States with eventually catch a sexually transmitted disease due to a failure in using contraceptives (condoms) correctly and consistently.

The researchers in this study hailed from the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center and had a test group of over 1,400 teenagers (between 15 and 21 in age) who had admitted to having sexual relations without a condom in the previous 3 months. These teens attributed their lack of condom use to a reduction in sexual pleasure when using the contraceptive and a concern that their sexual partner would not want to use a condom. The head researcher for the team, Larry K. Brown, stated, “It’s clear that we have to address these attitudes, fears and concerns that many teens have regarding condom use, if we want to reduce their risk for contracting a sexually transmitted infection. The good news is that these attitudes may be easily influenced and changed through clinical and community-based interventions.”

The test group came from regions in Providence (RI), Miami (FL) and Atlanta (GA) and was comprised of close to 797 females and 613 males. Half of the test group was African American, a quarter was Hispanic and almost 20 percent was white. The questionnaire was computer-based and had questions regarding the teens sexual encounters and their use of condoms from the previous three months. There were also inquiries about the teenagers’ thoughts and stances on the use of condoms, as well as how the issue of contraception was brought up (or not brought up) with sexual partners.

Of the test group, almost 66% of the teenagers admitted to not using a condom during their most recent sexual encounter. The average number of sexual partners amongst the study group was two and the average number of sexual encounters which were unprotected was fifteen during the three month timeframe. Teenagers in the study group admitted to having issues with the lack of pleasure associated with condoms and a worry that their partners would disapprove of contraceptive use. Many teenagers in the group who admitted to not using condoms consistently also were less likely to bring up the issue of condoms at all with their sexual partners. Amongst the ethnic groups, locations and gender, the results of the study were similar. Researchers in this study suggest that physicians can teach teenagers how to approach potential sexual partners about using contraceptives and also how to find condoms that fit correctly so that sensation and pleasure will not be reduced.