NBC News and PEOPLE Magazine commissioned a landmark poll surveying young teenagers about their intimate sexual attitudes and practices. In one of the first surveys of its kind, teenagers as young as 13 reveal how much they know about sex and how much they are doing.
The poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, questioned 13 to 16 year-olds about their sexual behavior, relationships, oral sex, STDs, and casual sexual partners (what's now known as "friends with benefits").
The findings provide important answers for parents struggling to cope with a newly promiscuous world. Below are the enlightening, and often surprising, answers to the NBC News/PEOPLE Magazine Poll:
Sexually active young teens
Nearly 3 in 10 (27%) thirteen to sixteen year-olds are sexually active and "have been with someone in an intimate or sexual way." Most of these sexually active teens have touched someone else's genitals and almost half had oral sex and/or had sexual intercourse. Sexual activity is much more common among 15 to 16 year-olds (41%) than 13 to 14 year-olds (14%).
Most 13 to 16-year-olds waiting to have sex
The vast majority (87%) of teens aged 13 to 16, have not had sexual intercourse. Most (73%) have not been sexually intimate at all. Seventy-four percent say they have not had sex because they made a conscious decision not to. As many (75%) have not because they believe they are too young. Many say they abstain because they fear the potential consequences-pregnancy (74%), STDs (71%), parents' reaction (65%). While just more than half say it is because they haven't met the right person yet (54%), few say it is because of a lack of opportunity (21%). Four in 10 (42%) say they have not because of religious or moral beliefs.
SUMMARY TABLE: Why are teens waiting to have sex?
Girls are more likely than boys to cite a conscious decision to wait (81% vs. 67%), belief they are too young (82% vs. 67%), fear of pregnancy (77% vs. 71%), STDs (75% vs. 68%), or parents or (71% vs. 59%) friends' reaction (28% vs. 13%).
Fifteen to 16 year-olds are more likely than 13 to 14 year-olds to say they have not had sex because they have not met the right person (62% vs. 47%). Thirteen to 14 year-olds are more likely to say it is because they think they are too young (82% vs. 66%).
Teens with a Catholic parent (72%) are more likely to not have had sex because they are worried what their parents will think than those with a Protestant parent (63%) or another religious background (57%).
Those whose parents are better educated are more likely to say they have not had intercourse because of their religious or moral beliefs and less likely to say they have not out of a fear of catching an STD.
Nearly 3 in 10 young teens 'sexually active' - msnbc.com