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I . SEXUAL ACT IN7ITY AMONG ADOLESCENTS
This section presents information on sexual activity among adoles-
cents in the United States. Data are provided on sexual activity
among never-married teens and married teens before and after marriage.
In most cases the designation of being sexually active pertains to men
and women ever having intercourse. Data are also provided on frequency
of sexual intercourse, number of premarital sexual partners, location
of first intercourse and other factors that may affect the timing of
first sexual intercourse among adolescents, such as age at first
menstruation.
The data came from three main sources, the National Surveys of
Young Women and Men (NSYW/M), the National Longitudinal Surveys of
Youth (NLS), and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).
1979 NSYW/M are for U.S. metropolitan areas only. For this reason the
data in Table 1. 2 from the 1971 and the 1976 NSYW/M and the 1982 NSFG
were adjusted to include metropolitan areas only, in order to present
for which similar data
from the 1982 NSFG were not available, only data from the NSYW/M are
presented. Data on young men are only available in the NSYM and the
NLS.
_
a comparable time series. In subsequent tables ~
The
The estimates of female sexual activity based on data from the NLS
and the NSFG although generally consistent, differ in three respects.
First, the age categories for the NSFG are mid-year (i.e., age 15 means
15.5 years) whereas for the NLS data, the age categories extend to the
end of a specified age (i.e., age 15 means until the 16th birthday).
Second, unless otherwise noted data from the NLS include all women re-
aardless of marital status. Third, Hispanic persons In the NLS data
(black or white); in the NSFG data, unless other-
wise noted black and white totals include H ispanic persons. This means
that the race and ethnicity categories are not mutually exclusive. The
NSYW/M do not include data on Hispanics.
_ -
may be of any r ace
,
A-9 / 361
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TABLE 1.1 Proportion Of Women Aged 15 To 19
Beginning Menstruation At Specif ic Ages, By Race Of
Women, 1976 - 19801
Proportion of Women, by Race
Age at First
Menstrual Cycle
Total Whites Blacks
8-10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17+
5.196
12.7
29.4
30.2
13.1
5.9
2.9
0.7
4.6%
12.1
29.6
31.4
12.9
5.8
2.9
0.7
7.6
17.6
24.7
25.8
14.8
9.5
100.0 100.0 100.0
Mean Age 12.6 12.7 12~5
\
N = 2 ,121 1 J 767 30 5
Notes: None of the black-white differences in age at
mena rche reach accepted levels of stat istical
signif icance. The total group includes 49 women of
other race groups. Where cell sizes fell below 25,
data are grouped in categor ies.
Data are derived from women' s responses to a
question in the medical interview, "How old were you
when your period or menstrual cycles started? Data
we re coded in year s.
Source : Unpublished tabulation from Ronette Briefel,
National Center for Health Statistics, DHHS , Second
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,
1976 - 1980.
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TABLE 1.1
Table 1.1 shows the proportion of women aged 15 to 19 (studied
between 1976 and 1980) by age at menarche and race. These data were
tabulated from the Second National Health and Nutrition Survey. Over
three quarters, 77.4 percent, of all women began menstruation by age
13, 96.4 percent of all women began menstruation by age 15. The mean
age at first menstruation for all women was 12.6 years, 12.7 years for
white women and 12.5 years for black women. The difference in age at
first menstruation between black and white women is not statistically
significant.
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TABLE 1.2 Percent Never Marr fed Women Living In Metropolitan Areas
Ever Experiencing Sexual Intercourse, By Age 1971 - 1982 (percent who
have had intercourse)
.
Race Pe rcent Chang e
and Age 1982 1979 1976 1971 1971-82
All Races*
15-19
15
16
17
18
19
Wh ite
42.2
17.8
28.1
41.0
52.7
61.7
46.0
22.5
37.8
48.5
56.9
69.0
39.2
18.6
28.9
42.9
51.4
59.5
27.6
14.4
20.9
26.1
39.7
46.4
52.9
23.6
34.4
57.0
32.7
33.0
15~19 40.3 42.3 33.6 23.2 73.7
15 17.3 18.3 13.8 11.3 53.1
16 26.9 35.4 23.7 17.0 58.0
17 39.5 44.1 36.1 ' 20.2 95.5
18 48.6 52.6 46.0 35.6 36.5
19 59.3 64.9 53.6 40.7 45.7
Black
lS-19
15
16
17
18
19
52.9
23.2
36.3
46.7
75.7
78.0
64.8
41.1
50.4
73.3
76.3
88.5
64.3
38.9
55.1
71.0
76.2
83.9
52.4
31.2
44.4
58.9
60.2
78.3
1.0
-25.6
-18.2
-20.7
25.7
*Includes races other than Black and White.
Sources: Melvin Zelnik & John F. Kantner, "Sexual Activity,
Contraceptive Use and Pregnancy Among Metropolitan-Area Teenagers:
1971-1979", Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 12, No. 5, Sept/Oct
1980. William Pratt, NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 1982,
Cycle III, unpublished tabulations, 1984.
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TABLE 1.2
Table 1.2 shows the percent of never married women aged 15 to 19
living in metropolitan areas who had ever experienced sexual inter-
course by 1971, 1976, 1979 and 1982. For all 15- to 19-year-old metro-
politan women, there was a 53 percent increase in the percent of
sexually experienced females between 1971 and 1982 due primarily to
increases among whites. Overall, the percent increase in the propor-
tion sexually experienced was the largest among 17-year olds. There
was also a substantial increase in the proportion of females aged 15
and 16 who were sexually experienced.
Although the proportion sexually active increased during the 1970s,
between 1979 and 1982, there was a slight decrease in the percent of
metropolitan teenage females experiencing intercourse. Of women aged
15 to 19 in 1982, about 42 percent had had intercourse compared to 46
percent of women aged 15 to 19 in 1979. The decline in the proportion
sexually active occurred for 15-, 16-, 17-, 18- and 19-year-old female
teenagers regardless of race. The decline for white teenagers was
slight, from 42.3 to 40.3 percent for 15- to 19-year-olds and is not
statistically significant. The decline for black teenagers was much
larger, from 64.8 to 52.9 percent for 15- to 19-year-olds. From a
statistical perspective this trend is only marginally certain, and
will have to be monitored to determine its significance.
It is important to note that, while more than 50 percent of
females aged 18 to 19 in 1982 had experienced intercourse, fewer than
30 percent of females aged 15 and 16 in 1982 had done so.
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TABLE 1.3 All Women And Nelrer-Marr fed Women Who Have Ever Had Sexual
Intercourse, By Age And Race, 1982 ~ National Survey Of Family Growth
Number of Women ~ logos)
96 Who Had I nte rcou r se
Age* Total** White Black Total.. White Black
A 11 Women
All Ages 15 - 44 54,099 45,367 6,985 86.3 86.0 89.7
15-19 9,521 7,815 1,416 46.9 44.9 58.9
15-17 5,122 4,119 821 32.2 30.1 44.1
15 1,474 1,191 209 19.2 17.9 28.0
16 1,601 1,302 260 30.4 28.8 41.6
17 2,046 1,626 352 43.0 40.1 55.4
18 2,327 1,967 302 58.1 54.8 77.0
19 2,072 1,728 293 70.7 69.0 82.0
20-24 10,629 8,855 1,472 85.4 84.5 93.2
25-44 33,949 28, 697 4, 097 97.6 97.7 99.
Never-Marr fed Women
\
All Ages 15-44 19,164 14, 948 3, 545 61.3 57.6 79. 6
15-19 8,839 7,193 1,377 42.8 40.2 57.8
15-17 4,968 3, 971 818 30.1 27.5 43.8
15 1,460 1,177 209 18.4 16.9 28.0
16 i,559 1,263 257 28.5 26.7 40.8
17 1,949 1,531 352 40.1 36.4 55.4
18 2 ,107 1, 768 289 53.8 49.7 76.1
19 1, 764 1,454 270 65.6 63 .2 80.5
20-24 5,811 4, 502 1,084 73.3 69.5 90.8
25-44 4, 514 3 ,252 1, 084 82.0 79.7 96. 3
.
*Single years of age refer to the mid-points in the age intervals,
e.g., 15 means 15.5 years.
**Includes races other than White and Black.
Source: Pratt et al. "Understanding U.S. Fertility," Population
Bulletin, Volume 39 No. 5, December 1984. Reprinted by permission.
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TABLE 1. 3
Table 1.3 shows data f rom the National Survey of Family Growth
(NSFG) on the number and percent of all women and never marr fed women
who ever had sexual intercourse by age and race for 1982. Among all
women aged 15 to 19, 47 percent had had sexual intercourse (44.9 per-
cent of white teens and 58.9 percent of black teens), compared to more
than 85 percent of all women older than age 20. The proportions of
never-married women aged 15-19 ever having had sexual intercourse are
only slightly lower than for all women aged 15 to 19 because most women
under age 20 have never been married. Unmarried teens account for 32
percent of all unmarried women ever having had intercourse and 8 per-
cent of all sexually active women.
It should be noted that the proportions presented in this table for
never-married women differ slightly for those presented in Table 1.2
for 1982 because they are not limited to metropolitan areas.
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TABLE 1.4 Cumulat ive Sexual Act ivity By S ingle
Year Of Age, Sex, Race And Ethnicityl, 1983,
Nat tonal Long itud inal Survey Of Youth
Cumulative Be Sexually Active
Age* Male Female
Total
15
16
~7
18
19
20
N
White
15
16
17
18
19
20
N
16.6
28.7
47.9
64.0
77.6
83.0
(4657)
12.1
23.3
42.8
60.1
75.0
81.1
(2828)
5.4
12.6
27.1
44.0
62.9
73. 6
(4648)
4.7
11.3
25.2
41.6
60.8
72.0
(2788)
Black
15 42.4 9.7
16 59.6 20.1
17 77.3 39.5
18 85.6 59.4
19 92.2 77.0
20 93.9 84.7
N (1146) (1157)
H ispanics
15 19.3 4.3
16 32.0 11.2
17 49.7 23.7
18 67.1 40.2
19 78.5 58.6
20 84.2 69.5
N (683) (703)
-
Note: Sample is limited to respondents age 20 and
over at 1983 survey date.
*Percentages reference birthday for specified ages,
e.g., 15 means by 15th birthday or end of 14.
[Hispanic persons may be of any race.
Source: Special Tabulations from the 1983 National
Longitudinal Survey of Youth Center for Human
Resource Research, Ohio State University.
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TABLE 1.4
Data on the cumulative percent of males and females in the National
Longitudinal Survey of Youth {NLS) who reported having had sexual
intercourse are presented in Table 1.4. by age and race
.
In all, 4 out of every 5 males and 7 out of every 10 females were
sexually active by age 20. Among males, blacks were more likely to be
sexually experienced than both Hispanic and white males. Nearly 60
percent of the black males had had intercourse by age 16 and 94 percent
had had intercourse by age 20. In comparison, by age 16 about 32 per-
cent of the Hispanic males and less than a quarter of the white males
were sexually experienced. By age 20, slightly more than 80 percent
of white and Hispanic males had had intercourse.
This data base, like the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG),
indicates that black females were more likely to have had intercourse
than whites or Hispanics. Approximately 2 out of 10 black females
were sexually active by age 16 and more than 8 out of 10 were sexually
active by age 20. In contrast, only 1 out of 10 white and Hispanic
females were sexually active by age 16 and 7 out of 10 were sexually
active by age 20.
In general, males were sexually active at younger ages than fe-
males, and blacks were sexually active at younger ages than whites or
Hispanics.
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TABLE 1.5 Cumulative Percentage Of Women And Men Under 20 Who Ever Had
Intercourse, By Age, Race And Study, United States, 1938 to 1984
,
Females
Study
Males
Year Age White Black White Black
Kinsey, Pomeroy 1938-50 13 1 -- 14.8
& Martin, 1948 14 2 -- 27.8
Kinsey, Pomeroy, 15 3 -- 38.8
Martin & Gebhard, 16 7 -- 51.6
1953, U.S. 17 -- -- 61.3
18 -- -- 68.2
19 -- -- 71.5
20 20 -- 73.1
Vener & Stewart, 1970 13 10 -- 24
1974; Michigan, 14 10 -- 21
School B 15 13 -- 26
Sample, 16 23 -- 31
Tables 4 & 5 17+ 27 -- 38
TOTAL 16 -- 28
1973 13' 10 -- 28
14 17 -- 32 --
15 24 -- 38
16 31 -- 38
17+ 35 -- 34
TOTAL 22 -- 33
Miller & Simon 1971 14-15 5.3 -- 7.8
1974, Illinois 16-17 21.7 -- 20.9
Table 3 TOTAL 13.0 -- 14.0
Sorenson, 1973 1972 13-15 30 44
Table 404, U.S. 16-19 57 72
TOTAL 45 59
Simon, Berger & 1967 It 18 7 -- 25
Gaznon, 1972 18 19 -- 36
Table III (College 19 30 -- 63
Youth, U.S.)
__
__
Jessor & Jessor
1975, Colorado
Table 1
1972 Grade 10 26
11 40
12 55
21
28 --
33
Udry, 1980
Raleigh, NC 1978 13 6.1 35.0 27.0 69.8
Tallahassee, FL 1980 14 11.0 39.3 28.8 75.9
Zabin el al, 1984 1981-82 It 16 34.8 54.0 65.9 83.3
Inner city Baltimore, 16+ 59.9 80.3 76.8 93.1
Source: Refer to references at the end of text.
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TABLE 1. 5
Table 1.5 presents cumulative percentage distributions of women
and men under age 20 who ever had intercourse by age, race and study
for the United States f rom 1938 to 1964. This table shows both the
trends over t ime in adolescent sexual activity and var iations and
consistencies in sample estimates.
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TABLE 1.9 Percentage Distribution Of Women Aged 15-19 And Of Men Aged
17-21, By Relationship With Their F irst Sexual Partner `, According To
Race, 19 7 9, Met ropol itan U . S .
Women
Men
Relationship With Total White Black Total White Black
First Partner (N=936) (N=478) (N=458) (N=670) (N=396) (N=274)
Engaged 9.3 9.6 8.2 0.6 0.5 1.0
Going steady 55.2 57.6 46.5 36.5 39.2 21.9
Dating 24 .4 22.2 32.6 20.0 20.2 19.0
Friends 6.7 6.0 9.4 33.7 30.2 52.4
Recently met 4 .4 4 . 6 3 . 3 9. 3 9. 9 5. 7
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100. 0
Source: M. Zelnik and F.K. Shah, "First Intercourse Among Young
Americans, " Family Planning Perspectives, 15 (2) (March/April), 1983.
Rep r inted by pe rmiss ion.
\
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TABLE I. 9
Table 1. 9 shows the percentage distribution of women aged 15 to
19 and of men aged 17 to 21 by their relationship with their f irst
sexual partner by race. Data are f rom the National Survey of Young
Women (NSYW) for metropolitan areas only in 197 9.
Among the women, over 8 5 percent of the white and black women were
engaged, going steady, or dating their first sexual partners. Only
4. 6 percent of the white women and 3.3 percent of the black women had
recently met their first sexual partners. Among males, however, 40
percent of the white men and 58 percent of the black men said that
their f irst sexual partners were friends or someone they had just
recently met.
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TABLE 1.10 Percentage Distribution Of Women Aged 15-19 And Of Men Aged
17-21, By Relationship With Their First Sexual Partner, According To
Age At First Intercourse, 1979, Metropolitan U. S.
Women
Men
Relationship With <15 15-17 18+ <15 15-17 18+
First Partner (N=273) (N=55S) (N=103) (N=305) (N=294) (N=64)
Engaged 3.9 6.8 18.7 0.4 0.8 0.0
Going steady 44.4 61.9 46.1 20.0 46.2 47.9
Dating 28.9 21. 6 29.0 18. 6 22.4 12.6
Friends 13.2 4.3 5.4 54.4 20.0 26.7
Recently met 9. 6 3.4 0. 8 6. 6 10. 6 12.8
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: M. Zelnik and F.K. Shah, "First Intercourse Among Young
Americans," Family Planning_ Perspectives, 15 (2) (March/April), 19830
Repr inted by permission.
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TABLE 1. 10
Table 1.10 shows the percentage distribution of women aged 15 to
19 and of men aged 17 to 21 by relationship with their first sexual
partner according to age at first intercourse. Data are from the
National Survey of Young Women (NSYW) for metropolitan areas only in
1979.
Among women, teenagers who were younger at first intercourse (less
than 17 years) were more likely to have recently met and less likely to
be engaged to their f irst partner than teenage women who had f irst in-
tercourse at age 18 or 19. Among males, however, those who first had
sexual intercourse at age 18 to 21 were more likely to have recently
met their first partner than males who first had intercourse under age
18.
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TABLE 1.11 Percentage Distribution Of Locale Of First Premarital
Intercourse, Women Aged 15-19, By Race, 1976 And 1979, Metropolitan
U.S.
. .
19 76
1979
Total White Black Total White Black
Loc ale (N=7 13 ) (N=3 45 ) (N=3 6 8 ) (N=9 2 3 ) (N=4 6 9 ) (N=4 54 )
Respondent' s home 17. 6 16.2 21.2 18. 5 17. 9 20. 7
Partner's home 43.5 43.8 43.1 49.2 48.4 51.7
Home of relative/ 21.1 21.5 20.2 12.3 12.6 11.5
friend
Motel/hotel 5. 5 3 .3 11. 5 4 .2 2 .2 11. 7
Car 7.1 8.9 2.0 8.9 10.6 2.7
Elsewhere 5.2 6.3 2.0 6.9 8.3 1.7
Source: M. Zelnik, "Sexual Activity Among Adolescents: Perspective of
a Decade," In E.R. McAnarey (Ed.), Premature Adolescent Pregnancy and
Parenthood. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1983. Reprinted by
permission.
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TABLE 1. 11
Table 1.11 shows the percentage distr ibution of the location of
f irst nonmar ital intercourse for women aged 15 to 19 by race. The
data are f rom the National Survey of Young Women (NSYW) for 1976 and
19 79, metropolitan areas only.
For the majority, over three-quarters, in both 1976 and 1979, of
all the women aged 15-19 who had a first premarital intercourse, the
location was the home of the respondent, the partner or a friend or
relative. In both years, black women were more likely than white women
to first have sexual intercourse in a motel/hotel. For white women the
location of first premarital intercourse was more likely to be a car or
elsewhere than for black women. The partner' s home was twice as likely
to be the location of first intercourse as the young women's home.
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TABLE 1.12 Estimated Cummulative Percent Ever Experiencing Sexual
Intercourse By Single Year of Age, Race, Ethnicity1 And Mother's
Education, 1983, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Males
Respondent's Mother's Education2
Females
Age* HS HS
— _
Total Sample
15 23.9 13.7 12.0 7.3 4.7 3.3
16 38.0 24.8 23.0 16.9 10.2 10.4
17 57.9 43.8 40.6 34.6 ~ 23.7 21.4
18 72.4 61.8 55.6 53.7 40.5 34.1
19 83.S 77.6 68.7 71.8 61.4 50.5
20 87.6 82.8 76.5 81.3 73.4 60.8
N 1808 1878 790 1975 1791 756
Whites
15 18.5 9.9 9.7 6.3 4.5 3.2
16 31.2 20.4 20.6 15.9 9.2 10.5
17 52.8 40.0 37.2 33.6 22.6 20.2
18 68.6 58.8 52.9 53.5 39.1 31.9
19 81.3 75.8 66.4 72.4 59.9 48.5
20 85.7 91.5 \74.9 82.0 72.4 59.0
N 814 1359 592 883 1288 577
Blacks -
15 42.8 43.7 12.0 6.8
16 62.7 58.0 23.2 16.1
17 79.3 76.3 44.0 33.8
18 87.7 85.1 63.2 53.9
19 93.0 92.5 80.1 72.0
20 94.5 94.0 87.2 80.6
N 541 S25 595 499
Hispanics
15 20.8 16.1 4.8 2.9
16 32.2 29.0 12.2 8.~
17 49.6 46.7 24.3 19.4
18 66.9 65.5 39.0 38.9
19 79.3 76.5 55.8 62. a
20 86.0 79.9 68.0 70.E
N 453 192 496 183
Note: Sample is limited to respondents age 20 and over at 1983 survey
date.
*Percentages refer to birthday for specified ages, e.g., 15 means by
15th birthday or end of age 14.
1Hispanic persons may be of any race.
2Education is defined as less than High School, completing High
School or more than High School(not available for Blacks and
Hispanics).
Source: Special Tabulations from the 1983 National Longitudinal
Survey of Youth, Center for Human Resource Research, Ohio State
University.
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TABLE 1.12
Table 1.12 shows cumulative estimates of sexual activity by single
year of age and mother's education in 1983 for a national sample of
youths. Data are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLS).
In general, the lower the mother's educational level, the lower
the respondent's age at becoming sexually active. For the total
sample, more than half (57. 9 percent) of the males whose mothers had
less than high school educations and about two fifths of the males
whose mothers had a high school education or more than a high school
education were sexually active by age 17 (43.8 and 40.6 percent).
Slightly over a third of the females whose mothers had less than
high school educations (34.6 percent) and less than one quarter of the
females whose mothers had a high school education or more (23.7 and
21.4 percent) were sexually active by age 17.
Black males were more likely to be sexually active by age 20 than
whites and Hispanics and, Hispanic males were as likely to be as
sexually active white males by age 20, regardless of mother's educa-
tion. Black females were more likely to be sexually active by age 20
than whites and Hispanics regardless of mother's education.
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TABLE 1.13 Cumulative Sexual Activity By Single Year Of Age And
By Drop Out Rate Of Respondent's High School, 1979 From National
Longitudinal Survey Of Youth
Drop-Out Rate of Respondent's High School, 1979
Males
Females
Age* LO (<10%) HI (10%+) LO (<10%) HI (10%+)
Total Sample
15 10.7 18.8 3.4 5.1
16 21.5 31.5 9.2 12.8
17 40.7 50.4 20.6 28.4
18 59.1 65.8 36.5 45.1
19 73.4 79.4 55.5 64.6
20 81.0 82.8 68.3 75.4
N 1387 1454 1441 1523
Whites
15 8.4 13.5 3.2 4.2
16 17.9 26.1 8.9 11.5
17 37.3 45.4 19.9 26.1
18 56.5 61.9 35.4 41.9
19 71.7 77.4 55.5 61.9
20 79.7 80.7 67.5 73.8
N 998 762 1053 806
Blacks
15 35.6 45.2 6.4 8.6
16 58.3 59.3 13.6 18.5
17 73.9 77.0 28.1 40.6
18 83.9 86.1 48.8 62.3
19 91.4 92.1 68.1 80.0
20 92.8 94.4 78.5 86.3
N 268 411 268 447
Hispanics
15 9.8 19.2 .4 5.9
16 26.6 29.6 5.5 12.6
17 47.5 46.8 17.9 23.1
18 64.7 63.4 34.3 36.4
19 76.1 74.4 52.3 55.4
20 84.2 80.3 63.5 66.3
N 121 281 120 270
Note: Sample is limited to respondents age 20 and over at 1983
survey date.
*Percentages refer to birthday for specified ages, e.g., 15
means by 15th birthday or end of age 14.
1Hispanic Persons may be of any race.
Source: Special Tabulations from the 1983 National Longitudinal
Survey of Youth, Center for Human Resource Research, Ohio State
University.
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TABLE 1. 13
-
Table 1.13 presents data from the National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth on cumulative sexual activity by single year of age and the drop
out rate in the respondent's high school.
In general, the percent sexually active by age 20 was higher among
respondents who attended schools with high dropout rates (greater than
10 percent) compared to respondents who attended schools with low drop-
out rates ( 10 percent or lower) . Again, the inc idence of sexual
activity was greater among black males and females regardless of the
dropout rate in the respondent's high school.
I t should be noted that high school d cookout rates may be a conse-
quence of levels of sexual activity as well as a measure of the com-
mun ity context.
(
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
women aged
