Sexually Transmitted Disease Among Teenagers

Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.

Teens end up getting sexually transmitted diseases because they are unaware of the consequences of unprotected sex. No abstinence-only program affected the incidence of unprotected vaginal sex (The Australian). Annually 3 million teenagers contract STDs from their partner (Robert Rector). Teens who have early sex not only suffer from STDs, they also have emotional and physical damage. Research shows that young people who become sexually

Such factors include an adolescent’s age of initial sexual intercourse; it is widely reported that schools provide insufficient sexual health education, and it can hence be strongly inferred that adolescents who fall into the lower end of the 15 – 24 year old age group, have an increased likelihood of chlamydial infection due to an absence of adequate information.

Over 15 million STD’s are contracted in the U.S. each year (Koumans et al., 2005). Over one one-fifth of these cases involve two of the most commonly known STDs: chlamydia and gonorrhea (Koumans et al., 2005) Unfortunately, most of the individuals who get infected with these diseases fall into the age range of 15-24 years old (Koumans et al., 2005). According to Wyatt & Oswalt (2014), almost half of all STD’s contracted each year are by young people ages 15-24 years old. Moreover, the data shows that, “45% of herpes infections, 70% of gonorrhea infections, 63% of chlamydia infections, and 49% of HPV infections occur among youth between the ages of 15-24 years” (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2014). Given that many college students are between the ages of 18-24 years, it is important that schools focus on educating students about the risk of

In the last decade or so, however, the growing awareness of the dangers of AIDS does appear to have contributed to a decline in the rates of sexual intercourse among teens. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that between 1991 and 2005 the percentage of teenagers who are sexually active dropped from 57.4 percent to 46.3 percent among males and from 50.8 percent to 44.9 percent among females. The rates of pregnancy, abortion, and sexually transmitted disease among teens have actually dropped even faster than the rate of sexual activity. So it appears that, in addition to postponing sex, teens are also becoming more responsible in their sexual activities. For example, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 87.5 percent of teens were either abstinent or used condoms. Of course, that means that 12.5 percent of teens were still having unprotected sex, but that is a significant improvement over past decades. Similarly, although the rate of teen pregnancy has declined, more than 11 percent of the babies born in the United States

Numerous sexual partners enables the chances of contracting an STI, such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, or Syphilis, to increase; that being said, statistics indicate that one in every five teens has had four or more sexual partners. Teens of the ages 15 through 19 are among the highest rates of the population infected with the previously mentioned sexually transmitted diseases. Teens engaging in sexual activity are often exposed to diseases without full understanding of the ease that these infections can be transmitted; students need to be exposed to the severe consequences in order to promote more cautious future decisions, like the amount of sexual encounters. Many young males and females never acquire information on the numerous sexually transmitted infections that they could catch and distribute nor how to prevent or treat such diseases. The statistics of high school students that document receiving counseling on STDs and STD testing at a routine checkup with their doctor meets low expectations, recording at 42.8 percent for females and only 26.4 percent for males. The high rates of infected teens could be directly related to the lack of knowledge they receive on the possible diseases that can be distributed through sex. Without proper knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases, the

The reason why STD's are so high among the youth is that some of the tactics don’t work as well as we would like. A big contributor is the scare tactic, where a parent or educator shows you the worst-case scenario of an

Sexually transmitted diseases show in a society of teenagers that are having premarital sex, because teenagers have so many different sex partners. Therefore, a result to teenagers having sex is the different disease which is becoming more common in the teenage population. Because, for this is that the teenagers don not know how to use the different birth control methods. Many teenagers believe that the pill or condoms stop the spread of AIDs, other diseases, and herpes so, the contraceptives do not prevent these diseases from spreading. Three million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers are reported each year. (www.helpme.com)

No one can deny that the number of pregnant teenagers has gone up in the last fifty years. Many teens are clueless of the consequences that sexual acts can have, “The CDC has found that over half of the STD’s contracted are by young adults.” (Steinmetz) Not only can it cause an unwanted pregnancy but it can also cause sexually transmitted diseases.

The more frequent occurrence of STDs in the younger generations are also based upon the multiple barriers in retrieving the benefits in STD prevention services which includes the lack of health insurance or inability to pay, no transportation, embarrassment of the services in the facilities, and worries of discretion. (STDs) According to the US Department of Health and Human Service, twenty five percent of sexually active adolescents have already obtained an STD. (Parillo) The severity of the issue is approached with the control strategies and educational strategies. In which these educational strategies are more effective when it involves a big health educational program that is provided to our minors. The young populations that are particularly affected by STDs are the young women with a low income for it is easier for a female to receive an STD compared to men. And with those women having a low income, they are not able to access the services that are being provided to them. Today, four in ten sexually active adolescent girls have obtained an STD that can cause infertility and death; also two thirds of adolescent boys have HIV diagnoses.

STDs, also known as Sexually Transmitted Diseases, are an increasing problem among teens all over the world. As teenagers get older and become more sexually active, they are often not informed or misinformed of the dangers and consequences of STDs. Although there are many ways to prevent STDs, the only way that has is 100% guaranteed is to practice abstinence, and that proves to be very difficult for some teens. In order to protect teenagers from unwanted diseases, they must be educated about the social, emotional, and physical consequences that they would have to deal with.

Statistics from recent studies suggest that only 13% of U.S. teens have ever had sex by the age of 15. But by the age of 19, seven in ten teens of both sexes have had sex. Between 1995 and 2006-2008, the percentage of teens aged 15-17 who had ever engaged in sexual intercourse declined from 38% to 28%. Among teens aged 18-19, it declined from 68% in 1995 to 60% in 2006-2008. The pregnancy rate among young women has declined steadily from 117 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 1990 to 70 per 1,000 in 2005. However in 2006, the rate increased for the first time in more than a decade, rising to

At some point of time in everyone’s life sexual activity will occur; this specific behavior is not illegal just imperative that you are aware of possible consequences that is likely to occur due to your actions. With Sexual activity come along Sexually Transmitted Diseases that are able to occur within the body when not careful. Many of the Young adults in today’s society are the number one victims of the infections due to a lack of knowledge on the topic. In my paper, I will inform the young adult’s population on the importance of sexual activities, and ways to prevent those infections by using things such as Condoms, Screenings, and birth control methods; for other reasons. Sexually Transmitted Disease is a topic that is very significant to health promotion to “promote healthy sexual behaviors, strengthen community capacity, and increase access to quality services to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their complications” (healthpeople2020; need to cite correctly).

This has decreased the number of new HIV infections. “However, it has been reported that the proportion of young women with multiple sexual partners has increased recently, suggesting that the pattern of safer sex practices is not all encompassing and education needs to continue to reach more young people. 75 percent of deaths among hospitalized adolescents are attributed to HIV and AIDS.”2

Research has shown that females who initiate intercourse in their early adolescent years are at higher risk for sexually transmitted diseases as well as cervical cancer (CDC, 2013). Males who engage in intercourse in their early adolescent years are at a higher risk for sexually transmitted diseases including HIV in those males who have sex with males. This age group is vulnerable to acquiring a higher evidence of infection due to them having multiple sex partners, improper use of condoms on a consistent basis, as well as having an increased biologic susceptibility to infection, and facing multiple obstacles to accessing health care (Forhan, Gottlieb, Sternberg, & et.al, 2009). Despite the high rates of infections documented in the adolescent population, providers frequently fail to inquire about sexual behaviors, assess STD risk, provide risk reduction counseling and