Nearly 8 Percent of Boys Have Sex Before They’re Teens
1 in 13 American Boys Has Sex Before the Age of 13, Say Surveys
It may be time to rethink when kids get that first sex ed class or talk from the parents. According to a new survey published April 8 in JAMA Pediatrics, nearly 1 in 13 American boys have had sex before even becoming a teenager.
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In data gathered by the National Survey of Family Growth and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, between 3.6 percent and 7.6 percent of boys 12 and under reported that they had already had sex. Almost half of the respondents in the latter survey described losing their virginity as either “unwanted” or as producing “mixed” feelings. The number of males surveyed was nearly 28,000 between 2006 and 2015.
“Parents and educators can’t wait until a high-school class to cover key topics when many young males start having sex before this,” Laura Lindberg, one of the authors of the study, told CBS News.
According to the CDC, the average age that most kids lose their virginity is 17, though boys are more likely to have sex for the first time before they turn 13.
Dr. David Bell and professor Samantha Gerbers added in an editorial attached to the findings regarding sexual development in young boys, "Any messaging, whether from clinicians or schools or parents, must recognize pressures that 'manhood is something that boys must make happen, by passing certain social milestones,' such as having sex. It is critical to engage young men in self-reflection about the real pressures U.S. society places on them that affect their overall health and well-being."
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However, while 8.5 percent of boys responded that their first time was “unwanted” and a further 37 percent had mixed feelings about it, about 55 percent said that it was clearly desirable. Still, there is a likely correlation between an increased age at which boys lose their virginity and satisfaction with the sex, as the appropriate organs mature and so do the romantic relationships hopefully driving them. Most adults and minors alike might agree that sex is not something to be rushed.
Is it time to panic over boys having sex? Maybe not. A 2017 CDC study on sexual activity and contraceptive use in 4,134 high school-aged students ages 15 to 19 suggests that teenagers are actually having less sex than their counterparts from the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. In fact, nearly 99 percent of modern teens are using regular contraception, too, perhaps scared straight by reality TV shows such as MTV’s “Teen Mom OG” and “16 and Pregnant.”
According to the CDC study, the vast majority of young boys and girls wait until they find that “special someone” before doing the deed. And with underage drinking and smoking decreasing in popularity among teenagers, according to 2018 national survey results on drug use, it looks like Generation Z may be all right.
However, there is still a lot of room for discussion and education.
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