2017 CDC Sexual Risk Behaviors Can Lead to HIV, STDs, & Teen Pregnancy

Resource Summary: 

Among U.S. high school students surveyed in 2017

  • 40% had ever had sexual intercourse.
  • 10% had four or more sexual partners.
  • 7% had been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to.
  • 30% had had sexual intercourse during the previous 3 months, and, of these
    • 46% did not use a condom the last time they had sex.
    • 14% did not use any method to prevent pregnancy.
    • 19% had drunk alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse.
  • Less than 10% of all students have ever been tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Sexual Risk Behaviors Can Lead to HIV, STDs, & Teen Pregnancy
  • Half of all new STDs reported each year are among young people 15 to 24.
  • More than 46% of sexually active high school students did not use a condom the last time they had sex.
Many Young People Engage in Sexual Risk Behaviors 
  • Many young people engage in sexual risk behaviors and experiences that can result in unintended health outcomes.
  • CDC data show that lesbian, gay, and bisexual high school students are at substantial risk for serious health outcomes as compared to their peers.

HIV- 21% of all new HIV diagnoses were among young people (aged 13-24) in 2017; 87% were young men and 13% were young women.2

STDs- Half of the 20 million new STDs reported each year were among young people (aged 15 to 24)3

Teen Pregnancy- Nearly 210,000 babies were born to teen girls (aged 15–19 years) in 2016.4