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Prevalence, nature of this health problem
This page lists resources, research and reports on the prevalence and nature of sexual health issues related to youth.
General overview
Report from Public Health Agency of Canada: Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dca-dea/yjc/ch4_84_86-eng.php
http://www.pwhce.ca/program_rural_youth.htm
Specific aspects of this issue
Pregnancy
Excerpts from Canadian Paediatric Society Statement (Posted Oct 24 by D McCall)
Pregnancy among Canadian adolescents has been decreasing in recent decades. In 2003, there were 33,553 pregnancies to women younger than 20 years (includes live births and fetal losses [from database of hospital-reported stillbirths, miscarriages and abortions]). This represents an overall rate of 27.1 per 1000 population, which has been falling since 1994 when it was 48.8 per 1000. The pregnancy rate is highest among 18- to 19-year-olds (Table 1), many of whom have planned pregnancies. The rate among 15- to 17-year-olds, while considerably lower, likely includes a higher proportion of unplanned adolescent pregnancies (1). Pregnancies among girls younger than 15 years represent a small proportion of overall pregnancies in the adolescent population.
Sexual Behaviour
Teenagers Do Not Engage in Oral Sex to Preserve Their Technical Virginity
According to a commonly held belief, adolescents engage in oral sex rather than vaginal sex to maintain their technical virginity. But a study by the Guttmacher Institute--the first of its kind--finds that is not so. The survey of more than 2,200 males and females between the ages of 15 and 19, found that those who identified themselves as virgins were far less likely to have engaged in oral sex than those who had had intercourse. According to the study, which was posted on the Guttmacher website and will appear in the July issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, teenagers become sexually active in many ways simultaneously. While previous studies had indicated that oral sex was increasing among adolescents as an alternative to intercourse, the sampling size of those studies was small and not nationally representative, the Institute researchers said. The Guttmacher study found that 55 percent of teens admitted to have engaged in oral sex while 50 percent said they had vaginal sex. Oral sex was far more common among those engaging in intercourse than those who were not. The data came from the National Survey of Family Growth. The complete Guttmacher study may be found at http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/JAH_Lindberg.pdf?sid=ST2008051901235.
New:
Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada, PHAC, 2008. (health risk behavours, sexual activity)
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dca-dea/yjc/ch4_84_86-eng.php
Contraception
Sexually Transmitted Infections
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/578860_print
Excerpts from Health Canada Report May 2007 (Posted October 24-07 by D McCall)
This report confirms that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are an escalating public health concern and challenge in Canada. Since 1997, reported rates of genital chlamydia and gonorrhea have been steadily increasing. Rates of infectious syphilis began to increase slowly in 1997 and then rose rapidly from 2000 onwards. As of 2004, all three reportable bacterial STIs are continuing their upward climb, affecting more and more Canadians.
The burden of STIs in Canada is not uniformly distributed throughout the population. Young women continue to be disproportionately affected by genital chlamydia, and gonorrhea infection is concentrated in males aged 20 to 29 years. Males over the age of 30 account for the majority of infectious syphilis cases. Marked geographic differences are also seen with rates of genital chlamydia and gonorrhea being highest in the north, followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Infectious syphilis rates are highest in British Columbia. Ontario, not surprisingly given its large population, reports the greatest number of cases for all three notifiable STIs. These three infections account for over half of all notifiable diseases reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada (Figure 1). This comparison paints a clear picture of the burden of disease directly attributable to STIs, which is further augmented by the significant morbidity and sequelae of some other sexually transmissible infections.
Relationships
Sexual harassment/dating violence
Gender Issues
Discrimination & Stigma based on sexual orientation and/or gender orientation
General overview
Report from Public Health Agency of Canada: Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dca-dea/yjc/ch4_84_86-eng.php
| Saskatchewan Rural Youth Risk Behaviours Project (scroll down to Sexuality) |
Specific aspects of this issue
Pregnancy
Excerpts from Canadian Paediatric Society Statement (Posted Oct 24 by D McCall)
Pregnancy among Canadian adolescents has been decreasing in recent decades. In 2003, there were 33,553 pregnancies to women younger than 20 years (includes live births and fetal losses [from database of hospital-reported stillbirths, miscarriages and abortions]). This represents an overall rate of 27.1 per 1000 population, which has been falling since 1994 when it was 48.8 per 1000. The pregnancy rate is highest among 18- to 19-year-olds (Table 1), many of whom have planned pregnancies. The rate among 15- to 17-year-olds, while considerably lower, likely includes a higher proportion of unplanned adolescent pregnancies (1). Pregnancies among girls younger than 15 years represent a small proportion of overall pregnancies in the adolescent population.
Sexual Behaviour
| September 2008, Vol. 5, No. 3, Pages 18–27 The Impact of Abstinence and Comprehensive Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs on Adolescent Sexual Behavior, by Douglas B. Kirby  In an effort to reduce unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) in adolescents, both abstinence and comprehensive sex and STD/HIV education programs have been proffered. Based on specified criteria, the author searched for and reviewed 56 studies that assessed the impact of such curricula (8 that evaluated 9 abstinence programs and 48 that evaluated comprehensive programs) on adolescents' sexual behavior. Study results indicated that most abstinence programs did not delay initiation of sex and only 3 of 9 had any significant positive effects on any sexual behavior. In contrast, about two thirds of comprehensive programs showed strong evidence that they positively affected young people's sexual behavior, including both delaying initiation of sex and increasing condom and contraceptive use among important groups of youth. Based on this review, abstinence programs have little evidence to warrant their widespread replication; conversely, strong evidence suggests that some comprehensive programs should be disseminated widely. |
Teenagers Do Not Engage in Oral Sex to Preserve Their Technical Virginity
According to a commonly held belief, adolescents engage in oral sex rather than vaginal sex to maintain their technical virginity. But a study by the Guttmacher Institute--the first of its kind--finds that is not so. The survey of more than 2,200 males and females between the ages of 15 and 19, found that those who identified themselves as virgins were far less likely to have engaged in oral sex than those who had had intercourse. According to the study, which was posted on the Guttmacher website and will appear in the July issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, teenagers become sexually active in many ways simultaneously. While previous studies had indicated that oral sex was increasing among adolescents as an alternative to intercourse, the sampling size of those studies was small and not nationally representative, the Institute researchers said. The Guttmacher study found that 55 percent of teens admitted to have engaged in oral sex while 50 percent said they had vaginal sex. Oral sex was far more common among those engaging in intercourse than those who were not. The data came from the National Survey of Family Growth. The complete Guttmacher study may be found at http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/JAH_Lindberg.pdf?sid=ST2008051901235.
New:
Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada, PHAC, 2008. (health risk behavours, sexual activity)
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dca-dea/yjc/ch4_84_86-eng.php
Contraception
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Trends in HIV- and STD-Related Risk Behaviors Among High School Students -- United States, 1991-2007
Excerpts from Health Canada Report May 2007 (Posted October 24-07 by D McCall)
This report confirms that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are an escalating public health concern and challenge in Canada. Since 1997, reported rates of genital chlamydia and gonorrhea have been steadily increasing. Rates of infectious syphilis began to increase slowly in 1997 and then rose rapidly from 2000 onwards. As of 2004, all three reportable bacterial STIs are continuing their upward climb, affecting more and more Canadians.
The burden of STIs in Canada is not uniformly distributed throughout the population. Young women continue to be disproportionately affected by genital chlamydia, and gonorrhea infection is concentrated in males aged 20 to 29 years. Males over the age of 30 account for the majority of infectious syphilis cases. Marked geographic differences are also seen with rates of genital chlamydia and gonorrhea being highest in the north, followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Infectious syphilis rates are highest in British Columbia. Ontario, not surprisingly given its large population, reports the greatest number of cases for all three notifiable STIs. These three infections account for over half of all notifiable diseases reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada (Figure 1). This comparison paints a clear picture of the burden of disease directly attributable to STIs, which is further augmented by the significant morbidity and sequelae of some other sexually transmissible infections.
Relationships
Sexual harassment/dating violence
Gender Issues
Discrimination & Stigma based on sexual orientation and/or gender orientation
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Latest page update: made by rosellep
, Nov 5 2008, 4:44 PM EST
(about this update
About This Update
Kirby on sexuality education
- rosellep
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