Very few young adolescent kids in America are engaging in sex, according to a new study from researchers at the Guttmacher Institute.
The researchers examined data collected from kids aged 10 to 19 as part of the National Survey of Family Growth between 2006 and 2010. The study found that only 0.6 percent of all 10-year-old kids reported engaging in any form of sexual activity. This number grew to only 1.1 percent of 11-year-olds and 2.4 percent of 12-year-olds.
"Policymakers and the media often sensationalize teen sexual behavior, suggesting that adolescents as young as 10 or 11 are increasingly sexually active," said lead author Lawrence Finer. "But the data just don't support that concern. Rather, we are seeing teens waiting longer to have sex, using contraceptives more frequently when they start having sex, and being less likely to become pregnant than their peers of past decades."
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