ASU grad student shares findings after researching sexual habits of adolescents

DENVER - Monday, Nicole Weller, an Arizona State University graduate student working toward her doctoral degree in sociology, presented preliminary findings on research she is conducting on the relationship between early sex education and the onset of sexual activity.

At the 138th Annual American Public Health Association Social Justice Meeting & Expo in Denver, the grad student said that she found that females are more likely to have unprotected sex the first time they decide to engage in sexual activity, than males. Weller said she wasn’t necessarily surprised.

"I'm looking at the interaction between sexual education and how it impacts young adolescent sexual behavior," she said. "This in particular was an interesting finding because males usually report that they are having more sex than females."

Weller's research looks for answers to questions such as: Are adolescents more likely to have unprotected sex or protected sex? Are adolescents who know the risk of sexually transmitted diseases more likely to use contraception?

"In general, the younger that you are when you have sex, the more at risk you are of contracting a sexually transmitted disease," Weller said.

She believes that teaching adolescents about sex early in life early is advantageous because the younger one learns; the more likely they are to take precautions when they decide to have sex.

"The younger one receives sexual education, the less likely you are to engage in risky sex," Weller said.

Weller is analyzing data from the National Survey of Family Growth that has been conducted since 1973. The sexual health history survey reports information on topics such as sexual health and pregnancy. Research also shows that young people are waiting longer to have sex for the first time, but are also contracting sexually transmitted diseases at a much younger age.

"Fifteen to 19-year-olds have the most sexually transmitted diseases," Weller said. "Even though they are waiting, they are having risky sex and not taking precautions."

Weller is also looking at similarities in different ethnic groups' sexual habits. So far she’s found that African American males and females are more likely to have unprotected sex than their peers.

These days, teens are learning about sex from their parents, peers, medical professionals and at school. In Americas school system, sexual education is taught in a variety of formats from abstinence to sexually transmitted disease awareness and from birth control to pregnancy awareness.

"It varies in school districts and from state to state. More than 80 percent of students get some type of sex education in the school," she said.

In the future, Weller plans to look at different types of contraception and how they are used since some methods prevent pregnancy; others prevent sexually transmitted diseases; and some such as condoms can prevent both.

Weller is a student in the School of Social and Family Dynamics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.