What is known about changes in teen sexual activity and contraceptive use?
It is not clear to what extent changes in teen sexual activity and/or contraceptive use drove the increase in the teen birth rate (and likely teen pregnancy rate). The most up-to-date data on teen sexual activity and contraceptive use (the Youth Risk Behavior Survey or YRBS) is for the period 2005-2007. However, YRBS does not include teens outside of school, and therefore reveal little about 18-19 year olds, who account for roughly three-quarters of the overall increase in the teen birth rate between 2005 and 2006. For teens in school, YRBS data for 2005 and 2007 reflected small increases in sexual activity and decreases in contraceptive use that were statistically insignificant, but likely large enough to account for the 5% increase in the teen birth rate (and likely a similar increase in the teen pregnancy rate) between 2005 and 2007. In general though, it seems that the country’s earlier progress in reducing risky sexual behavior among teens has stagnated, perhaps even reversed—why?
