Teen Sex Study

If You Were a Sex-Free Teen, Why'd You Hold Off?

March 3, 2011

A comprehensive study on teen sex came out by the National Center for Health Statistics, and it shows that more teens are holding off on sexual experiences. Out of those age 15-19, the study found 45 percent of girls and 41 percent of boys reported no sexual contact (including oral sex), compared to 36 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys in 2002. (So apparently Skins isn't as realistic as we all thought.) Experts took some guesses at why this was the case, from "fear of physical consequences" (i.e. pregnancy and STDs) to waiting for a more quality experience that comes with maturity. But I'm wondering, if you waited until later in life to do the deed (or maybe you didn't), what was your motivation?

34 Comments

leadevan 1 year 42 weeks

it was for two reasons... im 17 and i have never had sex because my mother got pregnant at 17 and my father was 18... i have grown up with out my parents... i have been living with my grandmother since i was 2 years old... my mother left and my dad was a fall down drunk... i never want to bring a baby into this world to the same situation my parents brought me into

blacksaphier 2 years 11 weeks

Just wanted to make a quick remark about the Skins reference. While it is most certainly exaggerated, Skins is originally a British show. And in the UK the average teenager has had about three sexual partners by the time they reach 16, so you can't directly compare it to the US.

Venus1 2 years 11 weeks

I chose not to wait. 15th birthday! It helped me become sexually confident, knowing what I want and my own body's needs. I am now in my 30s and no regrets at all. To this day I have never had sex with anyone who has not given me oral first. It's only polite!

Venus1 2 years 11 weeks

2 years 11 weeks

I chose other because it isn't that I'm religious or waiting for the right guy. I was home schooled in high school and even though I still had public school friends, I didn't really meet any guys. When I was in school I wasn't interested and felt like I was too young. Now I'm 19 and I really feel ready to lose my virginity but I don't have a boyfriend (have never had a boyfriend) and have no desire to look for one in the small town I'm in.

Tabloid 2 years 11 weeks

Other -- I didn't dated throughout high school because I'm more focusing on achieve my goal in school than paying attention to boys. Although, I do have some crush on some guys but that was it. I believe virginity is something to take pride in.

Bettye Wayne 2 years 11 weeks

I didn't wait, I was 16 and would have had sex sooner but I went through a seriously awkward ugly-duckling phase in my early teens. I started taking care of myself in 5th grade so I was always very eager to start having sex.

looseseal 2 years 11 weeks

You are far from the only one who's still a virgin at 24, larisa5656. Don't have sex with some random stranger just to "get it over with" by some arbitrary age, though. It's a bad idea for so many reasons. Sex isn't a jug of milk that will expire if you don't use it by a certain time. And it's not like you have to be totally sex-less until you have sex with someone. Masturbation is free.

bellamonkey2002 2 years 11 weeks

I'm 17 and celibate simply because I don't have the time to deal with the drama associated with sex when a teenager. I have the rest of my life to worry about that stuff.

danakscully64 2 years 11 weeks

I didn't wait, but I was almost 19, in college, and with someone I ended up having a 5 1/2 year relationship with. I originally had planned to wait until marriage, but I fell in love. I abstained in high school because I couldn't emotionally handle the consequences of sex (STD's and pregnancy).

larisa5656 2 years 11 weeks

I'll be honest; I'm 24 and still a virgin. Part of this is because I've been really focused on my education and career since high school, but also because I just haven't met the right guy. While part of my would love to just get the whole thing over with (a friend has offered to set me up with a male escort if I don't lose my virginity by the time I'm 30), another part of me believes that sex is an incredibly intimate act that I couldn't do with just anyone.

onlysourcherry 2 years 11 weeks

I didn't wait, but the two girls I know who were virgins throughout high school ended up losing it to a semi-random guy, one drunk at a party and the other to a friend. I think they just got sick of being virgins. I lost my virginity to my super hot, dumb as a sack of bricks high school boyfriend when I was 17 the summer before my senior year. For me it was a part of the high school experience and young love and all that, and I'm really happy I got to experience that.

onlysourcherry 2 years 11 weeks

2 years 11 weeks

One: In my opinion, sex (be it oral or intercourse) is a sacred act. Before I was ever a Christian, I felt very strongly about this. I had lots of b/f as a teen, I just loved me more than them :) lol, I guess. Sex, being completely naked in front of someone else, all the stuff that goes along w/ that, is just too much for a teen, in my humble opinion. 2nd: I was the oldest of 7, I had a lot of responsibility. My parents did not want a sexually active teenager in their home, and I respected that. The day I moved out (and in w/ my b/f, who I later married) I lost my V card

hex913 2 years 11 weeks

"Other": Fear that my mother might find out and skin me alive. My mom had very strong moral feelings (not related to religion) about waiting until marriage. Guilt kept me in line.

2 years 11 weeks

Well, I was a late bloomer for several reasons: I learned not to trust people at an early age, was very self-aware and didn't need a guy to feel fulfilled (still don't, but now I make a choice to involve someone in my life), and my libido didn't start peaking until my early twenties. Now I'm a practising Christian, and premarital sex is not an option, so it's a bit of a struggle these days to stay chaste.

Natalie Love 2 years 11 weeks

Did not wait at all! Got my first boyfriend at 13, and were busy at it at 14. I'm the one who initiated. I ended up dating the guy until I was 17, when I broke things off, just not really seeing a future together.Overall it was really fun, and it didn't stop me from being a straight A student, volunteering in the library, etc. Thanks to contraception there was never pregnancy or anything... I don't regret it at the slightest!

Natalie Love 2 years 11 weeks

Did not wait at all! Got my first boyfriend at 13, and were busy at it at 14. I'm the one who initiated. I ended up dating the guy until I was 17, when I broke things off, just not really seeing a future together. Overall it was really fun, and it didn't stop me from being a straight A student, volunteering in the library, etc. Thanks to contraception there was never pregnancy or anything... I don't regret it at the slightest!

looseseal 2 years 11 weeks

I'm not sure it counts as holding off when the opportunity never came up. As much as TV likes to present teenage as the sexiest age ever, the reality is... maybe not so much with all the awkward puberty hair and other weird stuff happening to our bodies. I don't recall really wanting to have sex at the time. Even wanting a boyfriend as a teenage girl was just because the idea of it was romantic.The sex ed I got was really focused on pregnancy and STDs, and yes, there were definitely some body image issues happening at the same time. But ultimately, I wouldn't say those were the deciding factors. It wasn't religion, either. As for waiting for the right guy... it's not like I was sexually frustrated because "the right guy" never came along in high school.I think the most important reason is that I simply didn't have fully developed libido until later. I'm not sure I would have held off for any reason if I really wanted to have sex as a teenager. Impulse control wasn't a strong suit back then. Hee.

looseseal 2 years 11 weeks

I'm not sure it counts as holding off when the opportunity never came up. As much as TV likes to present teenage as the sexiest age ever, the reality is... maybe not so much with all the awkward puberty hair and other weird stuff happening to our bodies. I don't recall really wanting to have sex at the time. Even wanting a boyfriend as a teenage girl was just because the idea of it was romantic. The sex ed I got was really focused on pregnancy and STDs, and yes, there were definitely some body image issues happening at the same time. But ultimately, I wouldn't say those were the deciding factors. It wasn't religion, either. As for waiting for the right guy... it's not like I was sexually frustrated because "the right guy" never came along in high school. I think the most important reason is that I simply didn't have fully developed libido until later. I'm not sure I would have held off for any reason if I really wanted to have sex as a teenager. Impulse control wasn't a strong suit back then. Hee.

2 years 11 weeks

I didn't have sex until I was 20. Why? I couldn't find anyone that I wanted to have sex with. My HS girlfriend wanted to have sex with me, after I graduated, but at that point I was not interested in her. It was not until I was a Junior in University that I met a girl (I saw a girl in my organization that was cute, so I walked up and said hi) who I was attracted to who wanted to have sex with me. She was a year younger, and had sex quite a few times before, so that made it easy for us. I LUV sex!

spacekatgal 2 years 11 weeks

I went to the mall in DC and gave a "I pledge to wait for marriage" at a Christian event. We signed our name to paper, and left them in stakes in the ground. I was having sex a few weeks later at 14. I don't think it was the best decision, but I don't especially regret it either.

spacekatgal 2 years 11 weeks

2 years 11 weeks

I didnt have sex until college despite long-term dating my boyfriend since 10th grade because I so badly wanted to go to college and was determined to not let anything get in the way of it. My mom even suggested that I could get on the pill but even with the pill, I still wanted to wait until I reached this ultimate goal that I had set for myself. I did not want any distractions. Back then I was also focused on not being a hypocrite and I thought if I expect my future children to not have sex in high school then I better hold these same expectations for myself and so I did.

Pistil 2 years 11 weeks

Lack of interest and opportunity, I guess. I didn't date in high school either. A few of my friends were virgins, too. And the ones that were sexually active didn't gab about it, so it it wasn't like there was a stigma.

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