Private MD News

Study claims preteens engaging in risky sexual activity

Category: HIV

Researchers from the University of Texas School of Public Health have found that middle school youth are having sex, some as young as 12 years old.

Dr. Christine Markham, one of the researchers in the study, defined sexual intercourse as vaginal, oral or anal sex. The group's finding saw that by the age of 12 a total of 12 percent of students had already had vaginal sex, 7.9 percent had oral sex and 6.5 percent had anal intercourse. Four percent reported engaging in all three types of intercourse.

"A common misperception among adolescents is that oral or anal intercourse is not as risky for STD transmission," Markham said. "But transmission of non-viral and viral STDs can occur through all three types of intercourse when condoms are not used."

Parents who suspect their child may be sexually active may want to look into getting an online blood test, as a way to protect their child's identity and to determine what their child's status may be.

In 2000, youth between the ages of 15 and 24 accounted for 48 percent of all new STD cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.