Black and white students are reporting less sexual activity, using fewer drugs and smoking fewer cigarettes than those in years past, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found.
Also, American teens were more likely to use condoms when they do have sex and obey other rules like wearing a seat belt and not driving while drunk, the national study of youth risk behavior found.
For the students overall, just under half have had sex, 75 per cent have tried alcohol and 20 per cent smoke, the government survey found. About 48 percent of high school students were no longer virgins in 2007, down from 54 percent in 1991.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questioned 14,041 students in grades nine through 12 in 39 states in the spring of 2007 on a range of risky behaviors in a survey it has conducted every two years since 1991. Participants were drawn from 39 states and 22 urban school districts.
In 1991, 54 per cent of the high school students said they had had sexual intercourse, compared to 48 percent in 2007. Just 15 percent said they'd had four or more sexual partners, down from 19 percent in 1991. Also, the use of condoms in sexually active students rose to 62 percent, up from 46 percent in 1991.
In addition, 38 per cent said they had used marijuana, more than in 1991 but down from 47 per cent in 1999. Seven per cent of the students said they had used cocaine, down from 10 per cent in 1999, and 4 per cent had used methamphetamine, down from 10 per cent in 2001.
The report showed a decline in the number of black teens who'd had sex (66 percent in 2007 compared with 82 percent in 1991) and among white teens (44 percent in 2007 compared with 50 percent in 1991). However, there was no change among Hispanic teens (52 percent in 2007 and 53 percent in 1991).
