SEXUAL ACTIVITY

In 2003, 46.7 percent of high school students reported ever having sexual intercourse, representing a slight increase since 2001. Although non-Hispanic Black students were most likely to report ever having sexual intercourse (67.3 percent), they were also most likely to report condom use during their last sexual encounter (72.8 percent of sexually active students). Hispanic students were second most likely to report ever having intercourse (51.4 percent), followed by non-Hispanic White students (41.8 percent).

Almost half of all 12th grade students reported having sexual intercourse in the 3 months preceding the survey. Among 9th grade students, more males were currently sexually active (24 percent) than females (18.3 percent). By 12th grade, however, females were more likely to be currently sexually active (51 percent) than males (46.5 percent). More than half of all high school students reported that they have never had sexual intercourse. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s Abstinence Education Program provides funding for education, mentoring, counseling, and adult supervision to promote abstinence from sexual activity.

In 2003, 63 percent of sexually active students reported using a condom during their last sexual intercourse. Condom use by male students is reportedly higher than condom use by females in every grade, and younger students reported more condom use during their last sexual intercourse (69 percent of 9th and 10th graders) than older students (57.4 percent of 12th graders).

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